What Am I To You?
by winter051094
Summary: Karin has a dragon instead of a zanpaktou, and while she still human. Toushiro joins the fray, with a twist on his own zanpacktou. It soon becomes a battle of wits, love, and betrayal at its fullest.
1. Stranger in the Night

Stranger in the Night

This thought kept running through her head. Just what was she to Toushiro? Sure he had kissed her a few times, but that made it all the more confusing.

"AHHHHHH!" Karin screamed in frustration. The yell was loud enough that an overprotective big brother came charging into the room, looking like he was ready to put himself in front of a bullet if need be.

"Karin, what's wrong?" asked a concerned Ichigo.

"It's nothing Ich-nii. Sorry if I woke you. I'm fine…I…uh…just got a bit frustrated that's all." Ichigo sweat dropped and looked at Karin.

"Okay…if you're sure…" Ichigo said and Karin just nodded. Then Ichigo left the room shaking his head muttering under his breath something about not trusting her brother with secrets.

Karin sighed. _That was a close one. _Karin thought.

_Yes that was, mistress. _A voice said. Karin snapped her head up and looked around. "

Who's there?" Karin asked?

_Oh please don't tell me that I've been waiting all of those years to come out and when I finally do, this is the welcome I get. _The voice continued. Karin looked around once again and sighed.

_Oh great. Now I'm hearing things. _Karin thought.

_No my mistress...well technically you are hearing __me__ but no it's not your imagination, its real. _Right after the voice said that, Karin felt eyelids get heavy.

_No I can't fall asleep! Not when there is a stranger in my room… _Karin heard a light chuckle and then fell into a deep sleep.

***************

When Karin opened her eyes, all she saw was light. "Where am I? Karin wondered out loud.

_You are in what I call your…"dream world". It is only a place for you and me. No one else can be here unless it's under dire circumstances…or if you simply allow another person to come here, but I don't highly recommend it. Now…I have awoken early from my long sleep because something is troubling you greatly. Would you like to share? _The voice was very soothing and the voice was sweet like honey.

"Why would I share my feelings and thoughts to a stranger?" Karin asked quite rudely. The voice just chuckled once again and repeated the question at hand, however changing up the words slightly to make the question more of a command then question.

"_Will you please share your…concerns?"_ Karin just looked around and saw nothing but light. Then she looked at her feet and screamed.

"WHAT THE HECK?! IM ON A CLOUD! HOW THE HELL AM I STANDING ON A CLOUD?" The voice just started laughing a laugh that was so soft and gentle, it could put a baby to sleep.

_Did you not hear what I said before? We are in your "dream world". You can do almost anything you'd like. _Karin thought for a minute and then spoke.

"Well if I can do anything I'd like…then for starters, I'd like to know who I'm talking to. What's your name?" _Even if I were to scream it out to you, you wouldn't be able to hear my name._

"Well could you at least show yourself?" Karin asked. _I am able to do that much for you… _

The wind started to blow around Karin and she had to put her hands around her hair to keep it from getting in her face.

_Will you close your eyes for one moment? _The soft voice asked. Karin nodded and did what she was told. _Okay. You can open your eyes now. _

The minute she obeyed, her mouth hung open. Right in front of her was a beautiful silver dragon. The dragon had hazel brown eyes and razor sharp claws. But the thing that amazed Karin was that she didn't feel afraid of the dragon one bit.

"Hello." was all Karin could say. _Hello mistress._ The dragon replied. Karin didn't know how long she was standing there, but it felt like only a few seconds before her stomach growled.

The dragon laughed and then put her head down so that Karin could get a better look at her. As the dragon was leaning down, something inside Karin made her feel adventurous. Unsure at first, Karin started to slowly move towards the beautiful creature. Then as her confidence improved, so did her movements. Karin all but through herself at the dragon and started to stroke its throat. The dragon made a sound that was half between a hum and a purr. Karin smiled and leaned against the dragon. The dragon sensed Karin's comfort and was happy that Karin had already accepted her without a struggle and an explanation of who she was.

_Karin. Do you know who I am? The dragon asked quietly. Karin turned around and looked at the dragon._

"I think so. Are you what they call my…uh…zanpaktou?" The dragon looked extremely pleased.

_Yes. I am your zanpaktou. I am glad to finally meet you. _Karin just nodded.

"_So…why is it that I can't hear your name?" _

The dragon sighed and spoke._ It is because you are not strong enough to hear it. If you ever get threatened or something along the lines of that, then you might possibly hear my name…but don't you even think about putting yourself in that kind of position. Understand? The voice of the dragon never was harsh, but full of compassion._

"Yes ma'am. I understand."

The dragon nodded and then looked around. _So mistress, I will ask it again for the third time tonight. Will you please share what is troubling you? _

Karin nodded. "I'm not…sure about Toushiro's feelings for me. That's all."

The dragon nodded and sighed. _Well I can only help you a little. I could talk to his zanpaktou and ask him, but I'd rather not if I can help it. _Karin shook her head at that.

"No no it's okay. You don't have to do that." The dragon nodded in approval.

_Okay, I won't ask him. But I always want you to remember something…I am always here for you no matter what. _Karin smiled.

_Okay mistress. It is now time for you to return to your room. I will talk with you later. Good bye and be safe._ With those words, Karin felt as if she was soaring through the sky, as free as could be. However, the feeling left as quickly as it came and Karin opened her eyes. She was back in her bed. Karin looked at her alarm clock and it displayed 9:15 am. Karin stretched and yawned. Karin felt more alive than she ever felt before. Today was going to be a great day for her.


	2. Songs, Hollows, and Everything With It

Me**:** Ok I am not sure if anyone likes my stories but my school just got out today!!! OMG I'm soooooo happy! Well, here is the next chapter and one last thing before u read this nxt ch. If no one reviews, then i wont update the story. I need at least 5 reviews…it cant b THAT hard can it? And plz don't give me just the "oh great story" crap plz. I want an honest review and plz tell me if u really liked it or not. And some suggestions wouldn't hurt ether… and last but certainly not least…unless I remember something else that I got to say… but anyways as I was saying, if u want me to write a one-shot for anyone, then just ask, tell me wat u want it to b about, and then I'll think bout it. Ok im done rambling on about useless stuff…

Toushiro: Geez woman, its about time!

Karin: Hey! Don't u talk like that to her!

Me: *sweatdrop as Karin punches Toushiro* im…ok…really…uh…Karin?...

Karin: *looks at me and smiles* ok…now Shiro-kun…be a good little boy and do the honors for Winter.

Toushiro: who the crap is Winter?

Karin: *punch* the writer u sorry excuse for a captain.

Toushiro: OUCH! YOU STUPID LITTLE GIRL! HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!

Karin: well that's a good point actually.

Me: *clears throat* um…guys…the uh…story…???

Both: oh right…

Karin: now will u plz just do the "honors" Shiro?

Toushiro: fine…*grumbles* Winter…does not in any form or fashion own Bleach. There I said it are u happy now?

Karin: I guess so…now ON TO THE FREAKING STORY!!!

***************

Songs, Hollows, and Everything With It

***************

As Karin looked around, she could see daylight streaking in. The sunbeams were just the perfect thing to get Karin up and running in a good mood. Karin yawned and stretched. She felt more refreshed than she had in a long time. Then Karin just sat on her bed and looked at the sunbeams. Then Karin noticed something.

"Ahhhh! Im so late for school." Then Karin stumbled up and ran around her room looking for a clean uniform to were. _Plink. _Karin looked up but didn't see anything and went back to searching for her uniform._ Plink. _There it was again. Karin ran to look out her window and there was Ichigo, throwing rocks at her window.

"You idiot! What do you think you are you doing?" Karin yelled in a joking manner.

"Throwing rocks at your windows, obviously." Ichigo responded, trying to hide his amusement. Karin smirked at his remark.

"Well knock it off. I can't seem to find my uniform. Do you know where it is?" Ichigo looked like he was about to throw-up with all of the laughter contained inside of him.

"Karin. Today is Saturday. You don't have school today…remember?" Ichigo said as calmly as he could without laughing. Karin blushed at forgetting something like that and tried to hide her embarrassment by yelling at Ichigo. But unfortunately for Karin…she had nothin.

Ichigo sensed this and his smirk became even bigger. "Oh it's okay Karin-chan. It's not _your _fault that you can't remember things."

Oh that did it for Karin. "Ich-nii. I suggest that you take the full advantage of what im about to say. I will give you exactly _one_ minute to get away from me before I send you to a hospital." Karin said, very slowly to drag out the moment.

Ichigo looked at Karin for a grand total of five seconds as he let the words sink in before he shot off like a rocket. Karin sighed. She was in too good of a mood despite what her brother had said to her.

So Karin got dressed in something that was casual yet flattering on her. Then she let down her hair that was pulled up into a messy ponytail. Her raven black hair reached down to about the middle of her back. Karin never cut it ever since the time that _he _told her that he liked her hair longer rather than shorter. Karin blushed at the memory because that was also the day that she got her first kiss, from Hitsugaya none the less.

"Well, Im no use to anyone just sittin here. I think I will go and…oh I don't have any idea what Im gonna do today." But just as Karin spoke those words, her eyes came across something that made her smile harder than she had in a long time. It was her good old soccer ball that she had neglected for so long.

Then Karin heard a song playing on the radio that reminded her of a certain someone…

_**For all the times that we, we ever were to be  
Look at us, baby, look at us now  
For everyday that I should have you by my side  
We'll make it, baby, look at us now**_

It really was ironic how well the song matched her so called "love life".

_**For every night I pray, I know that you will say  
Look at us, baby, look at us now  
Remembering the time our love was not so fine  
We made it, baby, look at us now**_

_**Baby, look at us**_

Oh yes. This song matched oh so well. Her love was indeed "not so fine". In fact, she hadn't seen her so called boyfriend in well over three months! And when he left, he didn't even have the decency to say a simple good bye or anything. He just up and left.

_**Everybody believed we would never be  
Look at us, up above, we are so in love  
Everyday, in your arms, baby, can't go wrong  
We are strong, look at us now**_

Karin sighed and continued to listen to the song, reflecting on her thoughts toward her "boyfriend".

_**For all the times that we, we ever were to be  
Look at us, baby, look at us now  
For everyday that I should have you by my side  
We'll make it, baby, look at us now**_

For every night I pray, I know that you will say  
Look at us, baby, look at us now  
Remembering the time our love was not so fine  
We made it, baby, look at us now

Baby, look at us

Of course, the song just _had _to rub it in. Karin shook her head and half-heartedly laughed at herself. She was just frustrated (and rightly so) and was taking it out on a helpless song. She could be so childish sometimes. _  
_

_**For every night I dream, together you and me  
Look at us, baby, look at us now  
And like a flower blooms, the glowing of the moon  
We'll make it, baby, look at us now**_

Though everyone believed that we could never be  
Look at us, baby, look at us now  
Now all the hurt is gone, I knew it all along  
We'd make it, baby, look at us now  


How does a flower and the moon have anything to do with relationships? Karin wondered to herself. (A/N: this is important and it will be explained later on in the story) Karin just shrugged and continued to listen to the song. The song had gone into the chorus (sry im not gonna put that part of the song into the story so this will be the last…um…verses in the song)

_**For every night I dream, the more I do believe  
Look at us, baby, look at us now  
A bird up in the sky, our love we'll not deny  
We'll make it, baby, look at us now**_

In all you ever do, I know you will be true  
Look at us, baby, look at us now  
A story of our kind is one to never die  
We'll make it, baby, look at us now

Baby, look at us

As the song ended, Karin hoisted herself up off the bed with her soccer ball and walked to the door, still deep in thought.

***************

"Oi! Why can't I get him out of my mind?!" Karin screamed at herself. People started to look at her and she flashed them a harsh glare that would send zombies back to their grave, shaking in fear.

Karin was about five minutes away from the soccer field before she felt a most unwelcoming sensation. It was the sensation that a hollow was near. Karin sighed and started to walk towards the hollow.

_No Karin you promised me that you wouldn't do anything reckless or stupid! _A voice rang through her head and a picture of the beautiful silver dragon appeared as well. Karin just shook her head.

_Why can't I just go and look? _Karin thought, knowing that the dragon could hear her.

_Because Karin, that hollow is here to get YOU and you're just giving it what it wants. _The dragon spoke.

_And what exactly does it want? _Karin challenged.

_TO EAT YOU OF COURSE! _The dragon yelled. Karin just shook her head once again and started to make her way to the hollow.

***************

It took Karin about thirty minutes to find the hollow and by that time, she was deeply angered and frustrated. It was obvious that this hollow didn't want to be found. However, when Karin _did_ find the hollow, she wished immediately that she had listened to her dragon. This hollow was about as ugly as they came. It had blood dripping down its body and it looked like it had just eaten a poor innocent soul.

That made Karin mad. Karin then looked over and saw three souls crouched in a corner, hoping that the hollow would leave them alone. However, the hollow had absolute no intention of letting them leave unharmed and possibly eaten if he got lucky enough to catch one. The hollow was unusually fat and therefore caused him to be very slow.

Karin could see the hollow turn half of his attention on the three souls in the corner and his other half towards Karin. Then the hollow smirked (can hollows even do that?) and advanced towards the souls.

"Stop! Don't hurt them you piece of crap!" Karin yelled at the hollow. The hollow stopped walking towards the souls and turned his full attention towards Karin. She gulped.

_Karin! Don't just stand there like an idiot, RUN!_ The dragon screamed. Karin didn't hesitate to take the dragon's advice this time. Karin turned and sprinted away. Karin was running her hardest towards the soccer field, hoping that that was far enough away to let the other souls run free.

Even though the hollow was enormously fat, it took very large strides (six of Karin's strides equaled one of his). Karin knew that she couldn't run forever and that over the past year, she had been slacking off her exercises, so her stamina wasn't as strong as it was a year ago.

_Oh what do I do? Please! Do you know? _Karin thought, speaking to the dragon. However, her response to that was silence and Karin felt completely alone.

Karin observed her surroundings. She was right in the middle of the soccer field and the hollow was just staring at her was hunger filled eyes. Then it spoke.

"So…hungry…and you smell so…appetizing." With those words, the hollow lunged as fast as he could at Karin. For some strange reason, Karin did not feel afraid, but somewhat numb and a strange bit peaceful. But because Karin was so afraid a few minutes ago, she failed to notice someone's energy coming toward her and the hollow. Karin looked up because a shadow had come over her. The hollow was looming over getting ready to envelop her. Karin closed her eyes, waiting for death to come, but as she did, she heard a voice calling her name!

"Karin!!!" Karin opened her eyes to see the hollows mouth (that was wide open) descend on her. Karin saw a bright light and then she was standing in her dream world.

_Karin. I told you not to but you didn't listen to me._ The dragon spoke. Karin looked down, ashamed. _However,_ the dragon continued _I am very pleased with you all the same for sticking up to your fears and facing the hollow, getting his attention so the three souls could escape. That was a very brave and noble thing for you to do and for that I am pleased. I believe you are now ready to hear my name…even as a human. _The dragon added as an afterthought.

There was a bright light and Karin looked around. She saw the hollow's mouth coming down on her and she did what her instincts told her to do.

"Rise and Conquer the skies, Kaze Ryuu!" Karin shouted. Immediately there was an enormous gust of wind that surrounded Karin. Karin looked down at her neck and what she saw amazed her there was a necklace in the form of a cross was lying on her chest. But what amazed her most was that it was glowing. When Karin looked up, the hollow looked stunned.

Karin looked up and saw her silver dragon had appeared and was roaring at the hollow. The hollow was unable to move at such a fright and the dragon looked down at Karin.

_Well done mistress. Now, let's finish off this annoyance. _Karin smiled at the praise and nodded in determination and without really knowing what she was doing, Karin took a step towards the dragon, closed her eyes, and felt herself become one with it. When Karin opened her eyes, she had become Kaze Ryuu.

With so much power, Karin opened her mouth and let out a stream of lightning and fire mixed together at the hollow. As the attack hit the hollow, it rolled on the ground, screaming in agony. Karin took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it out. As Karin exhaled, a small tornado formed and was spinning at the hollow. On impact, the hollow's mask cracked into a million different pieces and the hollow was gone.

_Um…Kaze Ryuu?...how do I become…uh…normal again?_ Karin asked in her head. The dragon just laughed her sweet laugh and replied. _Just close your eyes and I will do the rest._

Karin did as she was told and she felt herself become normal size again. When Karin opened her eyes, all she could see was dust clouds. Then Karin heard a voice call her name and she turned to look for the person. She found him almost immediately. His white hair was the same as she remembered it. His eyes still the same beautiful teal color they were. The only thing that changed was his height and expression. Normally the man would walk around with a scowl on his face but now it was only the expression on fear and concern.

"Hello…Toushirou…" Karin mumbled.

Me: And that is how I will end the chapter. I hope u liked it and if you want me to continue the story, please review soon or else Kaze Ryuu will come and get you! Ha ha! Just kidding! and comments are welcome as well as "protest" if you wanna call them that.

Toushiro: Dude! Who are you talkin to?!

Me: Er…

Karin: The readers BAKA!

Toushiro: *sweatdrop* well y didn't ya just say so?

Me: uh…

Karin: *sigh* because Shiro, you didn't give her enough time to reply.

Toushiro: ah! I see

Karin: sure he does…

Toushiro: What did u just say?

Karin: oh nothing. Nothin at all

Me: *sweatdrop as Toushiro runs and chases Karin* anyways…hope you enjoyed this chappy! (idk it just sounded fun to call it that cuz a lot of other ppl do!) ^.^

Vocabulary:

Kaze Ryuu= Wind Dragon (it was as close as I could get)


	3. Training and Explanations from Kaze Ryuu

Me: ok sry guys. I lied. I can't wait. I just have to put this chapter up. ^.^ if anyone is confused with the last ch, then let me try to explain… ok Karin was threatened by a hollow and Kaze Ryuu came out for her, but she is NOT a sword (SPOILER FOR MY STORY!!!), she (Kaze Ryuu) is something else that u will learn about soon. Bonus if anyone can guess it! And last but not least, the song that I put in the last ch (and the pt bout the flower and moon will b explained in this ch or the next…im not sure yet but probably this chapter) was called Look At Us Now by Sarina Paris and the song belonged to her not me.

Toushiro: ok well I just want to say…uh…I got nothin…

Me; *sweatdrop* then why did you bother to speak?

Toushiro: Shut up…so I forgot what I was gonna say…big deal…

Karin: *whack* ha! You know Shiro, for a captain, your kinda pathetic. I just hit you in the head and you didn't even defend yourself.

Toushiro: …

Karin: oh ok I just remembered something…Shiro, plz do the disclaimers for Winter.

Toushiro: Winter doesn't own Bleach…although if she did then that would be awesome.

Me: thanks Toushiro and one more thing. Obviously this story is in Karin's POV. But that's gonna change cuz (and no it's NOT gonna b in Toushiro's POV ether) there's gonna b a somewhat new character in the story and it will b in her POV when Karin and Toushiro go to Soul Society later on in the story. Ok that's all now on with the story.

***************

Training and Explanations from Kaze Ryuu

***************

"Karin! Are you okay? Wow that was amazing. I didn't know that you were a shinigami." Toushiro sputtered. Karin just looked at him and Toushiro got the picture that she was still angry about him leaving without a good bye. To prove his point, Karin started to walk away.

"I can't believe he still has the guts to face me after leaving for THREE WHOLE MONTHS without even a simple "good bye" or anything!" Karin mumbled to herself.

Karin had taken two steps before she felt he legs become like led. She couldn't move and her body started to fall forward, but Toushiro saw this and shunpoed to Karin and caught her before she hit the ground. Then Karin blacked out.

When Karin awoke, she sat up immediately and hit heads with someone.

"Ouch! That hurt." A voice said. Karin looked around and saw the person that the voice belonged to. Toushirou Hitsugaya.

"Oh…sorry about that." Karin said. Toushirou looked at Karin and Karin stared into Toushirou's eyes. The two of them remained like that before Toushirou started to lean forward. Karin got the hint and immediately began to lean forward as well.

Karin and Toushirou were just a few inches apart and Karin began to feel lightheaded once again. So her head fell forward and her lips met with Toushirou's. Karin would have laughed at his expression except Karin was just too tired so she tried to pull away but Toushirou's hand was at her waist and his lips at her ear.

"Are you feeling okay? You look a little pale. Here, I will take you home." Toushiro whispered. Karin just nodded and she felt herself being lifted and then moving at a very fast paste. When Karin opened her eyes, she was in front of her house.

"Okay. Thank you for the help. Do you have a place to stay for the night?" Toushiro just shook his head no. "Well then you are welcome to stay here at my house." And without looking at Toushirou, she spun on her heels and opened the door. Immediately, her father came running towards her with tears down his face.

"OH MY DARLING DAUGHTER HAS COME HOME! NOW GIVE YOUR DADDY A BIG HUG" But since Karin was so tired, she just settled with a simple kick to the face and she sent her father flying. Then her father got up and ran to the poster of their mother. "OH MY DEAR WIFE! OUR CHILDREN ARE GROWING UP!" Karin ignored the rest of what her father was saying and started to walk towards the stairs.

"Oh by the way dad, Toushirou's gonna be staying with us for a while." Karin called over her shoulder. Karin could hear her father stop crying and start talking nonsense about her growing up and bringing a boy home, but Karin didn't even pay attention to it. Instead, she kept walking and walked right into her room and laid down on her bed.

"Um Karin, where do I sleep?" Toushirou asked. To answer the question, Karin just moved over and patted a place next to her on the bed. Toushirou stood there for another moment trying to decide if it was a joke or not, but since Karin didn't say anything, he figured that she was being serious.

"Hey Karin, may I take a shower before I go to bed?" Toushirou asked. Karin just nodded and Toushiro walked away towards the bathroom.

_So mistress, are you feeling any better? I meant to warn you about becoming tired after we separated, but it completely slipped my mind and for that I am sorry. _Kaze Ryuu said.

_No its okay and yes, I feel a whole lot better. _Karin replied.

_Ok, that's good. Now go to sleep and in the morning, we will have to start training. _Karin just nodded and then fell into a deep sleep much like the one she has that previous night.

***************

When Karin woke up, she felt another presence in the room. Karin knew it wasn't Yuzu because she went away to a friend's house for the whole week for some strange reason. Karin turned around and came face to face with none other than…Toushirou. Then Karin mentally slapped herself. She had forgotten that she invited him to stay at her house and she even allowed him to sleep in her bed!!! Wow, being tired really had a strange effect on her. But then she remembered what Kaze Ryuu said to her about training. So Karin started to sit up, but Toushirou unconsciously put his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. Karin looked down at Toushirou's face and couldn't help but smile and laugh. Toushirou had the cutest expression on his face as he slept. Karin just sat there for about five minutes before she decided to get up and start her training.

***************

_Okay Karin. I am going to try to explain something to you before we start our training together. _Karin nodded. _First things first. Look down at the necklace that is on you. _ Karin felt shocked but did what she was told. Karin looked at the necklace and she could see that it was in the form of a small cross held together will silver and it was made up of pure white crystals for the sides and in the middle, it was made up of red rubies.

_Wow so where did this come from? _Karin asked.

_It is what many people call your zanpaktou._ The dragon said.

_WHAT? I thought __you__ were my zanpaktou. _Karin said. _Well I am, sortta. As I just told you, it's a little bit confusing so try to understand. _Karin nodded.

_Anyways, as you can see, you don't wield a sword and that is because I am not a sword, but I am close to one. For example, call me out and then look at the necklace. _Karin obeyed.

"Rise and Conquer the skies, Kaze Ryuu!" When Karin called this out, she looked down at her necklace. It had begun to shine. Then she looked up to see her beautiful silver dragon staring up at the sky.

"So…my necklace is in a way my zanpaktou?" Karin asked, trying to clear it all up.

_Yes that is correct, but I am one of the most strongest…er…weapons if you will, in the whole universe. _The dragon claimed with a slight hint of pride.

"And why is that?" Karin asked.

_I will explain that part to you later when I believe that it is time for you to know. Now enough talking…were gonna start to train. Are you ready? _Karin nodded. _Good. Now let's begin…_

***************

It had been a full week of intense training with Kaze Ryuu and Karin was making amazing progress. She was probably at the level of a lieutenant or even close to a captain. When Toushirou asked to spar with her, Karin answered yes but told him that she didn't have a sword, but she would fight him none the less.

Toushirou asked what had she been doing for the past week if she didn't have a zanpaktou, but Karin just told him that it was a secret and she still wanted to spar with him, so Toushirou hesitantly agreed.

Toushirou and Karin went to Urahara's shop to train because Karin had just recently found out that he had a secret place underneath the store for training and that's where Karin went most of the time to train with Kaze Ryuu.

When Karin and Toushiro arrived, they found a note that was addressed to Karin. It said this:

Hello Karin,

If you have come to train, then just let yourself in and the same with anyone that you have brought with you. I will be back later. Please take good care of the shop and don't let Kaze Ryuu get too mad…I would like to return to my shop, not a pile of ashes.

Thanks, Kisuke Urahara

As Karin read the letter, she just nodded but Toushirou looked completely confused so Karin had to explain.

"You see, I come here almost every day to train with Kaze Ryuu and one time, our power got out of control and this shop was almost unrecognizable. So in the letter, he's asking if we will take it easy today, but he should know that even when he asks, we never do so I don't even know why he bothered writing this letter but oh well." Karin finished, opened the door, walked in, and headed towards the door that led to the training room.

When Karin and Toushirou were both in the room, Karin turned to Toushirou and smirked. "So are you ready to have the fight of your life?" Karin asked. Toushiro nodded and walked a few feet away, drew Hyourinmaru and got into a battle stance. Karin closed her eyes for a few seconds and then reopened them.

"Okay. Whenever you are ready, we can begin." Toushirou didn't hesitate to attack, so within a few milliseconds, Toushirou had Hyourinmaru pointed at Karin's neck and she just smirked.

"Good job, but… wouldn't it help if you were pointing that sword at me not the air?" Karin asked. Toushirou looked at her but she was gone. Toushirou looked around and then felt something hit him in the back.

"Oh come on Toushirou! You aren't even trying and if I really were out to kill you, then you would be long dead." Karin said, reappearing behind Toushirou. Toushirou knew that he couldn't risk anymore mistakes because he knew that what Karin had said was true, he would be more than dead by now.

"Bankai Daiguren Hyourinmaru!" Toushirou shouted and immediately, wings of ice formed behind his back and Toushirou leaped into the air. Toushirou studied his surroundings and then saw a speck of light past by him on is left. It was Karin.

Then he heard her shout, "Rise and conquer the skies, Kaze Ryuu!"

One moment, Karin was on the ground and another minute, she was above him and punched him square in the face, sending him spiraling downwards towards the ground.

Toushirou spread his ice wings to slow and stop his fall. Then he spread his wings as wide as they would go and pushed himself upward towards where Karin was waiting. Karin looked like she was board so Toushirou decided to try something new. He spread his wings to the fullest and the brought them down, but instead of propelling himself upward, Toushiro sent millions upon millions of sharp ice-shards toward her.

Karin just smiled and continued to stand in mid air. Right as all of the ice shards were about to hit her, a pair of silver wings appeared. Then Karin's whole body seemed to merge with something behind her and within thirty milliseconds, there in Karin's place stood the beautiful silver dragon. The dragon inhaled and then exhaled.

As the dragon exhaled, a somewhat large tornado started to form in front of it and all of Toushirou's ice shards went and hit it instead. Then all of the ice shards rebounded and were headed straight for him. Toushirou was surrounded by his own attack as it was closing up on him. Toushirou braced himself as well as he could, but that didn't prevent him from getting injured. Toushirou felt a searing pain in both of his arms, his legs and his back by his spine. Then Toushirou blacked out.

When Toushirou awoke, he spotted Karin talking with someone. When he opened his eyes completely, he saw that it was Kaze Ryuu.

Toushirou tried to stand and give them some privacy, but as he stood up, he felt an arm go around his neck and he leaned back. His body was pressed up against Karin's body, but she didn't seem to care. Then Toushirou turned around and looked Karin in the eyes.

"You…have beaten me…and I had a sword and you didn't…that was amazing…" Toushiro said quietly for two reasons. One was that it was very difficult for him to admit defeat especially for someone who didn't even have a sword for heaven's sake and two was because he didn't want to ruin the moment that was forming.

Karin just continued to look into Toushiro's teal eyes. Toushiro saw that Karin's expression softened and he stared to lean in. Karin started to do the same and she closed her eyes. They could both feel each other's breath on their lips and they were almost touching.

"Hey!!! What did I tell you about ruining my shop?!" a voice yelled. Karin and Toushirou pulled away from each other, both looking deeply disappointed. "I'm coming Urahara! Just take a chill pill." Karin yelled. Toushirou was looking away and so Karin saw her chance. In one graceful swoop, Karin captured his lips with hers in a very sweet and gentle kiss. She quickly pulled back and looked at Toushirou. He looked somewhat upset by her pulling away, but Karin just smiled at him, shook her head, and leaned down towards his ear. She kissed his neck and she heard him moan softly. "We can finish this later…"Karin whispered in his ear, then turned and walked away, smirking.

Me: okay well here's chapter 3. Hope you liked it. Please review. The more people review, the more quicker I will update. ^.^

Toushiro: WHY DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE KARIN WIN THAT FIGHT!

Karin: *whack* well whats wrong with me winning Toushiro?

Toushiro: *grumble then sigh* nothin's wrong with it…

Karin: good! Well I hope everyone enjoyed our fighting scene. I thought that it was awesome and I didn't even have to do much…that was quite literally my warm up (hint hint!!! Im foreshadowing something) and I had hoped that Toushirou would have been more of a challenge but oh well…

Toushiro: *Cough, choke* Warm…up?!

Karin: yup!

Me: ok well thx for reading and a bonus for whoever can guess what's commin up. If you can guess this right, then I will dedicate the next chapter to whoever guesses it correctly. Well good luck!


	4. The Flower and the Moon

Me: okay well here is chapter 4. In this chapter, I will explain about the flower and the moon. I hope that you understand it.

Toushirou: ok well Karin is…uh…somewhere else at the moment and she wanted to do the disclaimers but i will just do it and she can do it next chapter. Winter does not in any way own Bleach. Although I wish she does because I get to hang out with Karin more often than in the actual show…oh well…

Me: thanks Toushirou and i just wanted to say thanks to all of those who review. It really encourages me to continue writing. I want to say a special thanks to amirasyaz for the support. Before I started writing this story and I read in other people's stories, it said "please review" or something like that, and I thought that it wasn't really important. But now I can really relate and say that one review really truly does encourage me to keep on writing. I am now looking at my email like ever second of the day (not literally) hoping that I got an email saying that I got a review. But it really does help. Ok im done…and I hope that you like this chapter!

_The Flower and the Moon_

Karin awoke to a loud yell by her father. "GOOD MORING MY SON!" her father screamed.

Karin moaned and turned in her bed reaching for her pillow to cover her ears with, but when she grabbed it, something was holding it down. Karin looked and saw that it was her boyfriend. Karin looked upon his face and smiled at how cute he looked when he was asleep. Then Karin took a look at the clock and saw that it was 5:45 in the MORNING! Karin frowned and laid back down, but when she knew that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, she quietly got up from her bed to kick some since into her father.

"YOU MORON! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING YELLING AT FREAKING 5:45 IN THE DANG MORNING?" asked an extremely pissed off Karin.

"I…I…was just waking Ichigo up…and-" her father stammered. Karin rolled her eyes and hit her father straight in between the eyes and he flew against the wall. Yuzu had awoken from all of the screaming and shouting and came in time to see Karin land the punch.

"You know Karin, you really shouldn't do that. Someone could get hurt." Karin only rolled her eyes again.

"Yeah okay Yuzu, whatever you say. I'm gonna go and…uh…take a really long walk, so don't wait up." Karin said.

"But aren't you going to go to school?" Yuzu asked. Karin just shook her head and started to walk to the door. A hand landed on her shoulder and someone spoke.

"And why is that, Karin?" Karin turned to face the person. "Because Ich-nii. I have…uh…better stuff to do today." And with that Karin walked out of the room, forgetting about the sleeping captain up in her room.

When Toushirou woke up, he sensed that Karin had gotten out of bed a long time ago. Toushirou sighed and looked at the clock. The clock displayed 9:55am. Toushirou sat up and thought about what he was going to do. Watch and protect Karin was his first thought.

_But then again, she did beat me… _Toushirou thought.

_Yes and I can't believe that you lost that fight, boy! _Hyourinmaru said.

_Well I accidently let my guard down and it was over before I could even recognize what had happened. _Toushirou said.

_Yes and that is what is going to get you killed one day…and I can't believe that she of all creatures beat me… _Hyourinmaru added as an afterthought and Toushirou knew that he didn't mean Karin…but who?

_Are you all right Hyourinmaru? You seem a bit…distant. _Toushirou asked.

_Don't worry about me boy, let's start training now. I still can't believe that we got completely beat by them…and they didn't even have a sword! _Hyourinmaru growled. Toushirou nodded and then spoke.

_Well I understand what you are saying but can I ask you one favor before we start training? _Toushirou asked. The dragon hesitated then nodded, knowing exactly what went through his mind.

_Good, then will you help me? _Toushirou asked. Silence followed the question, then after a few minutes came the answer.

_Yes. I will help you. _The dragon finally replied.

_~WAITY?~_

_Faster! You need to improve your speed just a little bit more. _Kaze Ryuu said to Karin. Karin just nodded and did what she was told.

_Very good Karin. You are improving greatly. _Kaze Ryuu praised.

_We will stop now and tomorrow you will go to school because people will start to become suspicious if you start skipping school. _Karin sighed and then nodded.

_Ok now it's time for us to go home. _Karin smiled at the thought of sleeping in her own bed and seeing Toushirou again.

"Urahara, we are leaving now! We'll see you soon. Bye!" Karin yelled over her shoulder and walked out of the store not bothering to hear if she got an answer or not.

As Karin was walking down the street towards her home, she sensed another presence following her. _What do you want me to do Kaze Ryuu? Do you want me to confront the person or keep walking? _Karin asked.

_I think that you should confront the person because I believe that he has something important to tell you. _The dragon said. _Really? Okay. _Karin said.

Karin turned around and yelled in the general direction of the person. "I know you're there. Show yourself!"

"Geez Karin. You don't have to yell that loudly." Karin released a sigh of relief; it was just Toushirou. Karin saw him smirking at her from a tree above her head and he jumped down and landed silently beside her.

"How are you doing…Shiro?" Karin asked. Toushirou looked stunned at that nickname but didn't argue, but started to blush instead.

"Aw! What are you blushing about?" Karin joked and leaned down and kissed him. When she drew back, Toushirou was even redder than he was before. Karin smiled and then reached down to grab his hand.

"Um…Karin?" Toushirou said.

"Yes?" Karin answered.

"Uh…let's go for a walk. I want to discuss something with you."

"Okay but I need to tell my family that I will be late for dinner." Karin said.

"I already told them." Toushirou said.

"Oh. Okay then let's go."

_~WAITY?~_

Toushirou took Karin to the place where Karin had first asked him to play soccer with him three years ago. By the time they got there, the sunset was at its peak. It was a beautiful sight to see. When Toushirou turned to ask Karin what she thought of the sunset, he noticed how beautiful the last of the sunrays looked on Karin and couldn't contain himself. He all but through himself on Karin; kissing her as lovingly as possible. Karin smiled in the kiss and put one of her arms around his neck and put the other one in his hair and stared to run her hand through it. Toushirou moaned as Karin started messing with his hair. Toushirou withdrew his lips from Karin's and just stared at her.

"Hey. Are you okay, Toushirou?" Karin asked. Toushirou nodded and then made a motion for Karin to stand up and move towards the railing. Karin and Toushirou walked over and then sat down on the railing, looking at the moon.

"You know, it's really a beautiful sight to see." Karin said.

"What is?" Toushirou asked.

"The moon." Karin replied.

Toushirou nodded and then took a few breaths to calm his nerves.

"I agree but I know something that is even more beautiful that that…"

"And what would that be?" Karin questioned. Toushirou turned and looked at Karin.

"You…" he whispered.

Karin started to blush and turn away, but Toushirou put his index finger on her chin and made her face him. It happened so fast, they didn't even how it happened. Toushirou was kissing Karin and had no intention of letting her go anytime soon.

After about an hour or so, Karin was as happy as could be and Toushirou decided that it was the perfect time to do what he originally planed to do.

"Karin," Toushirou whispered. Karin turned to face him as he stood up. "I have already spoken with your family about this, mainly your father and brother, and they both agree that this is your life and you should be able to make the decision. I…I am going to be returning to Soul Society soon and was wondering if you wanted to come with me. It is very rare for a human who has not died, to awaken her zanpaktou so I think that the Head Captain (this is what I call Yamamoto) would agree to allow you to come to Soul Society…I mean…if you want to and all." Toushirou finished and stole a look at Karin. What he found shocked him. He expected to see her thinking about it, but what he found was fierce determination, as if she didn't even have to ask twice.

"Yes Toushirou. I will come with you." Toushirou smiled and then hesitated.

"Okay well I got you somethin'." Karin looked shocked.

"Why?" Toushirou smirked and leaned in and kissed her neck. She moaned and his smirk got bigger.

"Because…it is now your birthday, Karin." Toushirou said and kissed her neck again, then made his way up to her lips. When they finally broke apart, Karin was grinning.

"Oh yeah…I kinda forgot." Toushirou couldn't contain the smile that sprung upon his face.

"Karin. I want to give you a birthday present." Karin turned and looked at Toushirou. In his hands was a small box with a light blue bow on top. Karin took the box and removed the bow, then opened the box.

What Karin saw inside the box made her heart melt. It was a rose, but not just any kind of rose. This one was an icy blue color.

"You should thank Hyourinmaru mostly for that. He helped me make it. That rose is made from Hyourinmaru's ice, and it's not like any other kind of ice. If I am ever in battle, the rose will start to glow and when I become injured, the rose will start to crack, and obviously when I'm healed, the ice will go back to normal. One last thing. If I'm ever away from you, that rose can call out to Hyourinmaru and me. Think of it like…a…communicator." Toushirou said and looked at Karin. Karin looked at Toushirou straight in the eyes and spoke.

"Thank you both…for everything…"

Toushirou's eyes got wide as he noticed that Karin looked like she was on the verge of tears. He understood that she was touched by this gift.

"Do you understand the significance to this gift? Do you know what the rose stands for?" Toushirou asked.

"Yes…your love…" and Karin let one single tear fall.

_~WAITY?~_

Me: ok well that is the end of this chapter. I hoped that you liked it.

Toushirou: ya but why is Hyourinmaru acting so weird?

Me…um…you will find out soon…

Toushirou: …why?

Me: just because I don't want to talk about it and by the way, the next chapter will start of in Karin's POV but then is will be in someone else's opinion. Let's see if you can guess who it is. This story is going to take an interesting turn and I hope that u guys can keep up…

Karin: AWWW! I loved my gift.

Me: I thought you might and it will come in handy later on in the story. (Yet another hint…geez what is with me and hints?) lol PLZ REVIEW and some ideas wouldn't hurt ether cuz im running out of them…ok until the next chapter! ^.^


	5. Surprises

Me: ok I am DYING to put this chapter up but this is where it starts getting confusing so if you get confused (cuz this is gonna be in someone else's POV as well as Karin's) because of the switching then im sry.

Karin: aw so im not the center of attention anymore?

Toushiro: *runs and snickers in a corner*

Karin: *red anime anger mark appears* Toushiro Hitsugaya. What are you doing?

Toushiro: *gulp…RUN*

Karin: *sigh* man he can be so immature. Oh well. Winter does not own Bleach…just the plot of the story that is AMAZING

Me: to indicate that I am switching POV, I will put "location" and then ether Karin (indicating that that is Karin's POV) or Seireitei (indicating that it is in another person's POV-- and I hope that yall can guess who Stephany is…) and thanks Karin

Karin: no problem now, on to the story

***************

Surprises

***************

(Location: Karin)

"So you _do _plan to go with him to Soul Society?" Ichigo asked. Karin just nodded. "Well, when do you plan on leaving?" Isshin Kurosaki asked. Karin just shook her head and indicated that that question should go to her boyfriend. "So Captain Hitsugaya, when are you both leaving?" Karin's father asked again. "Tomorrow or the day after. It depends on what Karin wants to do." Toushiro answered. Satisfied with the answer, Isshin started to walk away. "Okay. Just come and tell me when you are leaving because I want to be able to say good bye." He called over his shoulder. Ichigo looked extremely…furious with the idea even though he had given the "okay" for Karin. "Hey Ich-nii, just calm down. I'll be fine, and to prove that statement, I have a captain for a boyfriend that will protect me with his life if need be. And I also a few friends waiting there for me…I just can't wait to surprise them." "Oh ya, like who?" "Well for starters there's Rukia and Rangiku and-" "Okay okay. I get the picture." Ichigo said, "Oi Toushiro, come over her for a sec." Ichigo yelled. "It's Captain Hitsugaya to you Kurosaki!" came the response. "Yeah yeah whatever just come over here for a minute. I need to speak to you…_alone_." As Ichigo said "alone" he looked at Karin and she got the message. As she stood up, Toushiro came into the room. "Have fun talking you two." Karin called over her shoulder.

As soon as Karin was out of the room, Ichigo turned to Toushiro. "Captain Hitsugaya. I will only say this once. If you ever, and I mean ever hurt my sister, I will personally kill you. Understand?" Toushiro could tell that he wasn't joking and so, instead of a smart remark, he just nodded. "I would never do such a thing to her Kurosaki. I will protect her with my life." Toushiro said, and Ichigo visibly relaxed. "Very well then. I trust you Toushiro." Toushiro was too wound up in his thoughts to reply upon hearing his given name.

*************************************************

(Location: Seireitei)

"Captains and lieutenants, the reason that I have called a meeting is because I have an important enouncement to make..." the head captain, Yamamoto said. Everyone in the room became immediately silent. "In two weeks time, I will be retiring and-" "WHAT?!" many of the Captains and Lieutenants yelled simultaneously. "Yes you all heard me correctly, and I will introduce you to the one I want to take my p-" _Bang _"What on earth is going on?" Soi Fon asked. The only Captains that held it together were Retsu Unohana (4th squad) Sosuke Aizen (5th squad), Shunsui Kyoraku (8th squad), and Jushiro Ukitake (13th squad). Even Byakuya Kuchiki was not one hundred percent calm, but he was not in a panic like some of the others. "SILENCE!" Yamamoto yelled. _Bang _"Oh my goodness. What is happening out there?" Captain Kurotsuchi asked. "Anyways, as I was saying, I would like to introduce you all to the one I would like to name as Head Captain in my place." As Yamamoto spoke those words, I quickly opened the door and ran to his side. I was so fast, that none of the captains saw me until I was behind Yamamoto. Then I leaned down and whispered something in his ear. "Hello…grandfather…" I saw his stiffen and I smirked. "Hello. I haven't quite introduced you yet and they don't know that you're my granddaughter yet." He whispered back. "Well then hurry up. I want to meet them." Then grandfather (that is what I call Yamamoto because in the story, he really IS my grandfather…and how that is possible will be explained later) turned to all of the captains and lieutenants and sighed. "Everyone, I want you all to meet…my…granddaughter. She is the one who will fill in my position." I smiled and waved my hand at all of the captains and lieutenants who just looked frozen to the spot. My grandfather then turned to face everyone else, making his back face me. I walked over and stood by his side, but it was somewhat hard to walk in a graceful manor because I was wearing high-heels of all things. "It's a pleasure to meet everyone." I said and then bowed slightly.

*************************************************

(Location: Karin)

"Hey are you guys done talking yet?" Karin asked. Ichigo nodded and Karin came into the room and grabbed Toushiro's hand and begun to drag him out of the room. "Hey Ich-nii, Shiro and I are gonna go and say good bye to everyone." Ichigo nodded and the stood up, turning to walk to the kitchen.

"So…where are we headed first?"Toushiro asked. "Um…let's go to the soccer field. Maybe some of my friends are there." Karin said. Toushiro nodded. "Okay, but first I need to go and do something. I'll catch up with you at the field." "Okay." Karin responded and ran in the general direction of the field.

Toushiro watched to make sure that Karin was alright before he started to make his way towards Urahara's place.

When Toushiro arrived, he knocked on the door and the door automatically opened. "Urahara! I need to speak to Head Captain Yamamoto. Are you here?" There was a loud crash and then a voice responded. "Yeah, go right ahead Captain Hitsugaya!"came the response. Toushiro sighed and then turned on the communicator.

*************************************************

(Location: Seireitei)

"Your…g-granddaughter?!" Kenpachi stuttered. "Damn, then she should be able to fight extremely well. Hey girl! I, Kenpachi, challenge you to an…wait a minute…you don't even have a sword…how can you the Head Captain if you don't even have a zanpaktou?" "You will find that you do not always need a sword to fight." I replied. "Yes…maybe so, but if that's the case, then how am I supposed to fight you?" "Well I guess that you will either have to produce a sword for me to use, or just not fight me. I personally don't care ether way." I said. Someone cleared their throat. I looked up and saw that it was grandfather. Then I noticed that I had caused quite a commotion and started blushing. "We can finish this conversation after the meeting." I whispered. Kenpachi seemed to agree with me. I stood up straight and looked at my grandfather. He had the mixed expression between humor/amusement, and worry. I smirked and decided to have a _private _conversation with him. _Hey grandfather, are you okay? You are kinda giving me a strange look. _My grandfather's head snapped up upon hearing my "voice" and then looked at me. I nodded slightly to indicate that it was me who spoke to him. Grandfather looked like he was figuring out a hard problem, then he looked at all of the captains and lieutenants and introduced them by name and then their position. When he was finished he spoke. "If there are any questions or complaints, state them now." Grandfather said. No one made any movement or any sound. "Very well then, if there is nothing else to say, you are all dismissed aside my granddaughter, of course."

As everyone was leaving, I turned to Kenpachi. "Hey, how about in two days we can have our little fight…I can even finish it within five minutes." "Ha! You are SO on little girl." Kenpachi replied. "Okay but let me get one thing straight. I AM NOT A LITTLE GIRL, UNDERSTAND?!" Kenpachi nodded and smirked. "Well then I'll just be seeing ya in two days then…and what's your name by the way?" he asked. I hesitated, unsure if I should give out my name or not, but I decided that if I was going to rule Soul Society, then they should know my name in the least. ""I'm Stephany. Nice to meet ya!" I said. "Stephany? Hm…that's an interesting name. okay well I'll be seeing ya soon. See ya later." And with that Kenpachi shunpoed away.

"Just what do you think that you are doing, Stephany?" Grandfather asked. "What do you mean?" I answered. "I mean, you are going to fight Kenpachi? Why?" "I want to show him who's boss around here." My grandfather sighed and then looked me in the eye. "As you can see, we are missing our 10th captain, Captain Hitsugaya Toushiro." I nodded. "Well, please just be careful around here. I don't want people to think that you are a intruder." I smiled and walked out of the room. Right as I left, grandfather got a call on his communicator.

*************************************************

(Location: Karin)

"Hello, Head Captain. This is Captain Hitsugaya reporting. I plan to come back to Soul Society tomorrow or the day after…with Karin Kurosaki." "And why would you bring a mere human with you?" grandfather asked. "Because sir, she has already awakened her zanpaktou as a human, and by bringing her here, she could improve her skills greatly and be a major asset to us in the future." Grandfather pondered this for a few seconds and then responded. "Very well Captain Hitsugaya. I approve of this, but let me tell you that she is YOUR responsibility. Do you understand?" "Yes sir." Toushiro answered. "Very well, you are dismissed and I will inform you of some very important news upon your return. Have a good day Captain." Toushiro made a small bow and switched it off. Toushiro was very happy.

Toushiro quickly thanked Urahara and left the shop to go and find Karin.

When Toushiro did find Karin, she was enjoying herself in playing soccer with her friends. When Karin sensed that Toushiro had arrived, she halted running and called her friends over, and then motioned for Toushiro to join her as well. When everyone was gathered together, Karin started to speak.

"Hey guys…I am moving in two days so I won't be able to see yall anymore. That's why I wanted to play a good game of soccer with you guys." Many of Karin's friends looked upset by her words but were determined not to show it. "Well we are really gonna miss having you around." one of the boys said. All of the others nodded their heads in agreement. "Aw thanks guys, and im gonna miss all of yall." Then one of the boys noticed Toushiro. "Hey, aren't you the kid who helped us win our soccer game a few years ago?" Toushiro nodded his head. "Yeah I am." "Oh…okay so what are you doing here?" the boy asked. Toushiro just shrugged and (as always) pulled out his cell phone. Karin sighed and looked up at the sunset. "Well guys, I gotta run. It's getting late and I don't want my idiot of a father to freak out on me. I hope to see you guys soon. Bye!" Karin said and then took off in a run towards her home…and Toushiro followed.

When Karin reached the house, she sighed and took a deep breath. Toushiro looked at her and she just had the oh-boy-here-we-go kind of look as she opened the door. As expected, Isshin jumped towards Karin as soon as the door opened. Karin rolled her eyes and landed a kick to her father's face. Toushiro just smirked and walked in right behind her.

Karin turned towards Yuzu who opened her mouth to scold Karin, but Karin held up her hand. "Save it Yuzu. I have something else that I need to discuss with you. Do you have a moment?" "Of course Karin. What is it." Karin turned to look at Toushiro and he knew that she wanted to talk to her sister in private, so Toushiro was about to walk upstairs towards Karin's room to lie on her bed before a hand landed on his shoulder. "Hey. I want to talk to you." Ichigo said and Toushiro nodded and made his way up to Ichigo's room to give the girls some privacy for their conversation as well as their own.

As soon as the boys were gone, Karin turned towards Yuzu. "Okay…look Yuzu. I just wanted to tell you that I am going to be leaving for a while so I want to ask you a favor." Yuzu looked shocked at her sister's words but managed to nod all the same. "I want you to take care of yourself while im gone and in return, I'll come and visit you as often as I can. Can we make that a sister's deal?" Karin asked and held out her hand. Yuzu smiled and took her sister's hand in her own and squeezed it. "I'm really gonna miss you, Karin. Don't get yourself in too much trouble, okay?" Yuzu joked. Karin smiled and nodded. "Okay. Well I'm leaving tomorrow so I better go and get some sleep." "Okay Karin. Will I see you in the morning?" Yuzu asked. "Yes. I will leave after breakfast." Yuzu nodded and watched her sister go up the stairs to their room.

When Karin entered her room, Toushiro was already lying on her bed, so Karin grabbed her pajamas and went to the bathroom to take a shower and change. When Karin came out of the bathroom and into her room, she saw Toushiro sitting on her bed with his back facing her. Karin decided to sneak up on him, so she quietly walked up behind him. But before she could surprise him, she found herself with her back on the bed and Toushiro towering over her, smirking in triumph. Karin looked into Toushiro's eyes and she felt herself melt. Toushiro leaned down and kissed Karin passionately. When he was finished, he laid down beside her. "Hey Shiro. I want to go back tomorrow, okay?" Toushiro looked only a bit surprised. "Are you sure you want to go tomorrow?" Toushiro whispered back. Karin nodded. "Alright then. We will go back tomorrow." After that, they both fell asleep.

The morning came too early for Karin. She turned and looked at her clock and it displayed 7:12am, so Karin sat up and looked at Toushiro, then she nudged him on his shoulder gently. He just mumbled something in his sleep, then was silent. Karin decided to try and wake him up a different way. Carefully, Karin adjusted herself that she was on top of Toushiro and leaned down and gently pressed her lips against his. This woke Toushiro up immediately and he snaked his arms around Karin's waist and one around her neck, making the kiss more passionate. They kissed for about five minutes and then Karin ended it, reminding Toushiro that they needed to go down stairs and eat breakfast before they went to Soul Society. Toushiro hesitantly agreed and they got up and got dressed then headed down stairs.

Just as Karin was at the bottom of the stairs, her father jumped towards her yelling for all he was worth. "GOOD MORNING KARIN! I AM GOING TO MISS YOU DEARLY! I CANT BELIEVE THAT MY DAUGHTER HAS FINALLY GROWN UP!" this continued for about ten more minutes before Karin lost her calmness and punched her father in the stomach and then when and sat down for breakfast. "Hey father, Toushiro and I are leaving after breakfast." Karin's father settled down and looked at his daughter for a moment, then he walked over and gave her a hug. Instead of getting a punch like he expected to get, Karin returned the hug, then turned to the food that her sister made.

After half an hour of eating breakfast, Karin stood up and said her good-byes. Ichigo had come down a few minutes before and had managed to get a small hug from his sister as he said his own good-bye. Then Karin turned to face Toushiro and indicate that she was ready to leave. Toushiro nodded and then said a small good bye for himself before getting up and walking towards the door.

As Karin opened the door, she heard Yuzu yell one last thing to her. "Please take care of yourself, and I'll be waiting for you to return. Have a safe trip!" "Ok Yuzu. Will do, and you take care of yourself as well. Good bye!" Karin yelled over her shoulder and walked out the door.

Karin and Toushiro went to Urahara and asked him to open the gate to Soul Society, but as they arrived, Toushiro saw a sight that he had started to miss. His lieutenant came running at him and when she reached him, she gave him a great bear hug. "Matsumoto, let go!" Toushiro said. She did what he asked and turned to look at Karin. "Well hello Karin. Do you remember me?" Matsumoto asked. Karin nodded and smiled. "Okay, well let's go and captain…you are in for a world of shock when we arrive." Matsumoto chuckled and walked through the gate that led to Soul Society, leaving a confused Captain and his girlfriend behind.

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Me: well this has to be the longest chapter that I have written yet! Wow! Well I hope that all of you understood this chapter and I want to thank those who reviewed. *whispering* and the shock that Toushiro is going to have if you didn't understand was that I, Stephany (and that's not my real name ether…that was just a name that I liked so I stuck with that), am going to be the new head captain and that I am the granddaughter of Yamamoto.

Toushiro: hey! What are you whispering about?

Me: oh don't worry…you'll see soon enough…

Karin: ok well we hope that you liked this chapter and we hope that you will review!!!

Me: and one last thing, the way that I write is like this. I sit down at the computer with just me and my brain and i just type what comes to mind (so I don't really know where this story is going…but I have a few ideas at the moment about what's going to happen) and there is going to be a new twist to this story that has to do with Stephany, Karin, and Kaze Ryuu. And surprisingly Hyourinmaru has a part in this as well… thanks for reading! Hope that you enjoyed this chapter!


	6. Connections

Me: ok here is chapter 6. The same rules apply (meaning the "location" thing until me (Stephany--not my real name) and Karin meet and when we do meet, then it will put it in my POV.

Toushiro:…who's Stephany?

Me: you'll find out soon enough…

Toushiro: *sigh* fine…Winter does not own Bleach…just this story…that is getting me very confused.

Karin: well maybe that's just because you're an idiot?

Toushiro: …gee thanks Karin…you really know how to make a guy fell real warm and welcome

Karin: no problem Shiro now enough talking, on with the story!!!

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Connections

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(Location: Karin)

"Are you ready to go?" Toushiro asked Karin. Karin nodded and Toushiro took Karin's hand in his and walked thought the gate to enter the Soul Society.

As they entered, they were greeted by Lieutenant Hinamori, Captain Kyoraku and Ukitake.

"Hello Shiro. How are you?" Ukitake asked. "It's Captain Hitsugaya and im fine thanks." "Well that's good to hear. And who might you be?" Ukitake asked, turning to face Karin. "I am Karin Kurosaki. Ichigo's little sister." Karin introduced herself.

"Well welcome to Soul Society, Miss Kurosaki." A voice called out behind them. Everyone turned and saw that it was the Head Captain, Yamamoto. "Thank you for allowing me to come, Head Captain." Karin said and made a slight bow. "You are quite welcome and Captain Hitsugaya, please help Miss Kurosaki get settled in, in the 10th squad and then report to me within thirty minutes." Toushiro bowed and muttered a quick "yes sir" and then turned back to Karin. Yamamoto turned to leave, but Karin bravely called out to him. "Sir, may I ask one favor from you in the future?" "Well that all depends on what it is." "I would just like to be called Karin if that is okay." "Sure. I can do that…have a good day to both of you." And with that comment, Yamamoto shunpoed towards his districts. Then Karin and Toushiro turned and started walking towards the 10th squad.

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(Location: Seireitei)

I was walking around and I happened to see the gate open and two people stepped out. There was a boy and a girl who had stepped out. Then I spotted Captain Kyoraku and Ukitake along with Lieutenant Hinamori. Then Captain greeted the boy. "Hello Shiro. How are you?" "It's Captain Hitsugaya and I'm fine, thanks." came the reply. I couldn't hold back the shock I felt of how young he looked and I couldn't help but smirk. I knew immediately what he had to go through, being his age and all. "Well that's good to hear. And who might you be?" I heard the old captain ask the girl besides Hitsugaya. "I am Karin Kurosaki. Ichigo's little sister." She said with a note of confidence in her voice. Then I noticed that my grandfather had approached them without them noticing. Then he spoke. "Well welcome to Soul Society, Miss Kurosaki." I smiled because they had all jumped slightly. "Thank you for allowing me to come, Head Captain." I saw the girl named Karin reply and bow slightly. I saw my grandfather smile very slightly and then speak to the young captain. "You are quite welcome and Captain Hitsugaya, please help Miss Kurosaki get settled in, in the 10th squad and then report to me within thirty minutes." I saw the respect that Toushiro had for my grandfather and he bowed, and then turned back to the girl he was still holding hands with. Just as my grandfather turned around, I saw the young girl, Karin I think is what her name is, turn and tried to get grandfather's attention. It turns out that I was correct in saying that her name was Karin because she had asked grandfather to just call her by that name and grandfather agreed. Then grandfather turned and shunpoed towards his office. I smiled and then saw the couple turn and start heading to the 10th squad. I decided that I would just pay them a little…visit. I jumped down off of the roof and started walking down the hall towards the 10th squad. As I predicted, Toushiro and Karin were heading in my direction. As I was walking by, I held my head up and just looked straight ahead, but the captain stopped me. "Hey girl, are you new around here. What's your name and what squad are you from?" I turned and looked at the captain and smiled. "My name is Stephany and… I-" my voice was cut off because my necklace had begun to glow. I looked at Karin and she gasped…her necklace had begun to glow as well. When Karin gasped, Toushiro had directed his attention to Karin and I used this as a chance to take my leave. I jumped and landed on the roof of the building above us and looked down. Toushiro had the look of confusion on his face because it had taken me only ten milliseconds to jump up on the roof, one of my many abilities that I possessed. Light speed. I was so quick, that even the captain had not seen me take my leave. I decided that grandfather would want to talk to me now, so I stood up and ran to my grandfather's office. I knocked and then opened the door. "Yes young lady, what can I do for you?" grandfather asked. I just shook my head. "Nothing, I just wanted to be here when your 10th squad captain arrived." "Oh…you knew he came today?" I nodded. "Yeah, I saw you and him talking." Grandfather looked slightly stunned. "How? I didn't even sense your presence." I just shrugged. "Okay, well the captain should be coming in here in about twenty minutes. Is there something that you want to tell me?" I looked up into his eyes. "How do you know that I wanted to tell you something?" I asked. It was his turn to shrug. I sighed then spoke. "Do you know what I am?" I asked him. He just nodded yes and waited for me to continue. "Well this also had to do a great deal with that girl, Karin Kurosaki." That spiked grandfather's interest.

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(Location: Karin)

"H-hey, where did that girl go off to?" Toushiro stammered. Karin just shrugged and started to walk to the 10th squads courters. Toushiro, upon seeing Karin walk away, snapped out of thinking and ran to catch up with her.

As they approached the office, something came flying at Toushiro. Toushiro tried to dodge it, but he was a second too slow. Matsumoto had Toushiro in one of the famous bone crushing hugs. Toushiro struggled and tried to get his breath back. "M-M-Masumoto, l-let m-me g-g-go!!!!" After several moments of shouting and struggling, Toushiro was finally released and was glaring at his lieutenant. Then Masumoto remembered Karin. She turned to grab her and give her a huge hug, but as soon as she thought she had Karin, she disappeared and then appeared on the other side of the room, smirking. "Too slow Rangiku!" Karin taunted. Masumoto stood there, baffled and then tried again. Masumoto used a flash-step to reach Karin and when she thought that she had Karin in her arms she looked and Karin had disappeared…again. "Like I said Rangiku, too slow." Karin said on the opposite side of the room. Masumoto smiled and gave up. "Fine, whatever Karin." She said. Karin just smiled and nodded and then looked at her boyfriend and she couldn't help the laugh that erupted from her mouth. He had the look of utter bewilderment and shock on his face. After five minutes of shouting and ordering around, Toushiro and Karin agreed that she would stay with Toushiro in his home. Then Toushiro reminded himself out loud that he had to go to a meeting with the Head Captain. That caused another small fight with Karin who wanted to accompany him. Toushiro was naturally against the idea, but of course, Karin won the argument and in ten minutes, they were off to the 1st squad's office, leaving Masumoto to clean up the office by herself. The last thing that both of them heard was a shout from Masumoto. "AWWW CAPTAIN,THAT'S NOT FAIR!!!!!"

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(Location: Seireitei)

"W-what?! You can't be serious!" grandfather said. I just nodded."Of course I'm being serious. Why would I _ever _joke about something like this?" I asked him. Then I snapped my head up. "Hey grandfather, they're coming…_both _of them." I said. Grandfather just nodded and we waited in silence until we heard a knock. Then grandfather told them to come in. As Toushiro opened the door, he became shocked when he saw me. I smiled and waved. Karin had to grab his arm to get his attention and then they both took a seat. Then I turned to my grandfather and whispered, "Hey grandfather, while you speak with Toushiro, I'm gonna take Karin out for a bit and explain some things to her. Is that okay?" I asked. Grandfather looked like he disapproved. "Well come on. She deserves to know." I said, not bothering to whisper anymore. I saw grandfather sigh and then nod. "Great, thank you." I said as I stood up. I gracefully made my way towards Karin and I saw Toushiro tense up just slightly. I looked down at Karin and spoke. "Hey is it okay with you if you come with me while these two speak? I need to tell you something really important." Karin hesitated and looked at Toushiro and then back at me; then she nodded and stood up and followed me outside.

I turned to her and spoke. "Okay, let's take a walk. You are in for a bit of a surprise." As I spoke, Karin's necklace begun to shine once again. "That is what we need to talk about." I whispered to Karin.

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_Yamamoto and Toushiro_

"So, how was your trip, Captain Hitsugaya?" Yamamoto asked. "It was very good. I had arrived just as Karin awakened her zanpaktou. She was facing an enormous hollow and she had gotten herself in a bind. Then her zanpaktou spirit appeared…but a sword didn't. I couldn't really see _how _she defeated the hollow, but she did and that is how she achieved getting her…zanpaktou." Toushiro finished. "But she still doesn't have a sword, am I correct?" Toushiro nodded. "Okay, well Captain Hitsugaya, I have a few very important things to tell you. Number one: that girl that was with me and the one who left with Karin was my granddaughter, Stephany. Two: I plan on retiring in two weeks so she will be the one to take my place when I leave. And three: as you can tell, she is no ordinary shinigami and have you noticed that she has a special connection with Karin?" Toushiro was so stunned and shocked will all of the news he had heard, it was hard for him to even move his head. "Well I have gotten permission from my granddaughter to share this information with you, but you must swear to me that you will not talk to anyone about this, aside…Karin." "I swear." Toushiro simply said. "Very well. Now to explain it in a way that will be easier way for you to understand, I will need you to summon you zanpaktou spirit." Toushiro nodded and summoned Hyourinmaru to come out. Yamamoto made a small bow towards the dragon spirit and then sat back down and spoke to Hyourinmaru. "Hyourinmaru, you know what an elemental is am I correct?" "Of course I know because I am one." The dragon replied. "Yes Yes of course, but does your wielder know?" the dragon looked at Toushiro and then shook his head no. "Very well then. Allow me to explain," when Hyourinmaru didn't interrupt, Yamamoto continued. "there are four major elemental dragons in the world and they are the Wind dragon, Fire dragon, Earth dragon, and then the Water dragon. Then there are the other dragons such as Hyourinmaru, who is the dragon of Ice. Well, theses dragons have the power to…er…"transform" if you will, into a human. Well that is what my granddaughter is…an elemental." Hyourinmaru stiffened at this and narrowed his eyes, however, Yamamoto didn't seem to notice. "Hyourinmaru also posses these special abilities, and as you can see, he is _your_ spirit…do you see where I am going with this?" Yamamoto asked, with a glint of humor and amusement in his eyes.

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_Stephany and Karin_

"So…are you telling me that you are my…whoa! This is a lot to take in…wow…um…I don't mean to be rude, but do you think that maybe you could…prove it to me?" Karin asked me, timidly. I just laughed. "Of course I can. There are two ways to prove it and I will show you them both. One is that you and I have the same necklace, and as I said a long time ago, consider that necklace as your zanpaktou." I said. "Okay and what is the other thing?" Karin asked. I looked around and sighed. "We will need to go somewhere where we won't be bothered and that had a huge amount of room, but I can turn into my dragon form. It's the form that I met you in, when we first met in your dream world." I said and Karin nodded and started to think. "So if you really are my spirit, then…do we both have special powers?" I laughed at the question. "Yes we have special powers. For example, we both have the power to move very quickly, but because I am a dragon, it means that I am faster. I call that power, light speed because that is practically how fast we can move," Karin's eyes got big and I could see that she was piecing something together. "another thing is that I am still your spirit, so you can summon me just like someone can summon their zanpaktou during a battle, and that reminds me, would you be willing to help me tomorrow. You see, the idiot Kenpachi challenged me to a battle tomorrow. If you don't want to get yourself involved, I can understand, but if you were to help me, then we could seriously kick his butt." Karin had to smile at that comment. "Of course I'll help you. What do you want me to do?" Karin asked me. I smiled and I knew that we were going to be best friends from here on out. "If for some strange reason I am starting to loose, which I doubt but you never know, I want you to release me." "What do you mean?" Karin asked. "Because I am still your spirit I still need to be released to fight at my fullest and by the way, do you want to train sometime soon? We haven't trained in a while and I kinda miss it." "Sure I would love to train soon." "Okay," I said, "well because you have just gotten here, how about we train in a few weeks, after you have adjusted to this place?" I asked. Karin nodded in agreement. "Hey, why did you run off when we first saw you?" Karin asked me. This question caught me off guard. "B-because I didn't want to explain all of this to you yet." I said. "Oh, okay…may we go back yet?" I closed my eyes and concentrated on searching for my grandfather's reiatsu, but I sensed someone else's instead. Hyourinmaru. I visibly stiffened and Karin noticed this. She put a hand on my shoulder and I jumped at the sudden touch. I sighed and Karin spoke. "Hey, just like you can tell when something's bothering me, I can tell when something's bothering you, so what is it?" Karin asked, in a concerned manor. I looked at her and I knew that there was no way to keep it from her. "A long time ago I fell in love with a man and he fell in love with me…well one day, he just left me. It broke my heart and ever since then I haven't been the same." Karin nodded, knowing how I felt but at the same time, she was confused, wondering how that had to do with anything. "Okay, how about I show you another power that we both have. We can communicate with people through our minds." Karin's eyes became huge and she just nodded. "Here, I'll show you." I said and I closed my eyes and I felt myself "enter"(along with Karin) my grandfather's mind.

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_Yamamoto__ and Toushiro (in my POV)_

"So, what you're saying is that…your granddaughter, Stephany, is Karin's zanpaktou?" Toushiro asked. "Almost. Stephany _is _Karin's spirit, but she does not take the form of a sword." "Then what _does _she take the form of?" Toushiro asked. "She takes the form of a-" grandfather started to say, but was cut off as he sensed me "enter" his mind.

_Grandfather, can you hear me? _I asked him. _Yes, very well. _He replied. _Ok, well I'm done talking to Karin and we are coming back right now, but I do not want to face that…creature…right now so have Toushiro make him return. _I said. _…why? What has he ever done to you? _Grandfather asked. I growled. _I would rather not talk about it. _My grandfather hesitated and then spoke. _Very well. I shall see you both soon. _And then I withdrew from his mind.

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_Stephany and Karin_

"So…who is the "creature" that you were talking about?" Karin asked me as we returned to normal. I paused and then spoke. "Hyourinmaru." I stated simply. Karin looked confused so I decided to elaborate. "Do you remember that I told you that I had fallen in love with a man and he left me?" Karin nodded. "Well, that man, believe it or not, is Hyourinmaru." Karin looked shocked. "I will explain it another time, but this is just a quick explanation. Some spirits had lives before they became one with their wielder. For example, I was a living and breathing human before I became your spirit. Well, it's the same with Hyourinmaru, but that is (obviously) not his human name. My human name is Stephany, but my spirit name is…Kaze Ryuu." I looked at Karin to see if she was keeping up. Karin saw me look at her and she nodded, indicating that she understood. "Okay well I think that if I tell you anymore, then your head will explode with all of the information." I said. Karin just smiled. "Any more questions?" I asked Karin. She shook her head but she spoke. "Hey…thanks for the nice walk and everything." Karin said. "Okay well then lets head back to grandfather's office and your welcome." Karin smiled and we both started walking towards the office.

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_Yamamoto__ and Toushiro (in my POV)_

"Toushiro, will you please withdraw Hyourinmaru?" Toushiro looked confused and Hyourinmaru looked somewhat hurt but left anyways. "My granddaughter and Karin are returning. They should be here in a few moments." Grandfather said. Toushiro nodded and looked towards the door.

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_Stephany and Karin_

"Hey do you wanna race?" I asked Karin. Karin started to grin and she nodded her head. "Okay then. On your mark, get set…GO!" I yelled and we both sped off. We reached grandfather's office in a matter of seconds and it was a close one, but we tied. _Knock, Knock, Knock. _"Come in," grandfather called out. I opened the door and allowed Karin to go in first. "So how was your little walk?" grandfather asked Karin. I waited to see what Karin would do. She took a deep breath and then answered. "Oh, Stephany and I had a great time getting to know each other better." Karin said with a grin. I grinned right back at her. "Do either of you have anything to say or ask?" grandfather asked Toushiro and Karin. The latters both shook their heads no, but I could see that Karin was holding something back. "Very well, you are both dismissed." Toushiro stood up, bowed and held out his hand for Karin and she took it. I smiled and right before Karin had left the room I called out to her. "Hey Karin! If you ever need to talk to me, then don't hesitate to call me, okay?" Karin peaked her head through the opening of the door. "Gotta ya! thanks again for the nice walk." Karin said and then was gone.

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Me: okay that has to be the longest chapter that I have written so far. I really hope that no one was confused. To clear and summarize things up, I (Stephany) am Karin's spirit, Kaze Ryuu in human form…their fore my name is Stephany. And I will leave a hint as to what Hyourinmaru's human name is in the sneak peak…hmmmm…I wonder if anyone can guess it.

Toushiro: aw geez! How is anybody supposed to know, even I don't know and im his wielder!

Karin: oh stop your complaining! It's so annoying…and you call yourself a captain…how pathetic.

Toushiro: Karin…that's mean!

Karin: …

Me: well anyways I hope that you liked this chapter and I hope to have chapter 7 up in maybe two days. It depends on my enthusiasm to write. The more reviews, the quicker I write. And I'll be nice enough to give you a sneak peak at chapter 7. Well enjoy!

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Chapter 7

(sry I don't have a title for it yet)

"What the hell is this?!" I yelled, grabbing my wrist. "It's a binding bracelet made with real _sterling_ silver." Hyourinmaru said with a glint in his eyes. "Ha ha real funny, now get it off of me." I demanded. Hyourinmaru shook his head. "No way." I growled and the temperature dropped at least ten degrease. Everyone looked at Toushiro, but he just waved his hands in front of him, indicating that it wasn't him, then everyone turned back to me. "Energy restraint!" Hyourinmaru yelled and I could feel my energy starting to leave me. "No!" I growled between my teeth. Then I felt a hand on my arm. It was Karin. "Kaze Ryuu, you need to calm down." She whispered in my ear. I obeyed and took a deep breath that helped me calm down a drastic amount. Then I turned to confront Hyourinmaru. "W-why did you l-leave me all of those y-years ago?" I asked. Hyourinmaru released the restraint on me and sighed. "T-the boy was born…" Hyourinmaru said and flicked his tail to indicate that "the boy" was Toushiro. Then I felt a guilt rise inside of me.


	7. The Truth and Fight to Remember

Me: ok well this is chapter 7 and the battle between me and Kenpachi will take place very soon. I have some bad news. I am starting summer school (YUCK!!!) on Friday so I will not be able to write a chapter every day like I have been trying to do so im sry bout that, but I will try my best to post as quickly as possible. I also want to say thanks to ShikallllTema for staying with me and reviewing all of my chapters so far. (This chapter is dedicated to her!) ^.^

Toushiro: ok…well…then I'll do the disclaimers for ya…Winter doesn't own Bleach…just the story line and the elemental dragon idea…the characters (such as me, Karin, etc.) belong to Tite Kubo. (however Stephany and Sterling belong to Winter)

Karin: ok enough moping about that unhappy piece of information…let's just get on with the story! *smiles*

Me: and by the way, this story will be mostly in my POV for the rest of story

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The Truth and a Fight to Remember

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Today is the day. It is the day that I am supposed to fight the 11th squad captain. I sat up and stretched. Then I reflected in my mind what had happened yesterday. As all of it came crashing down on me, I froze. _Oh that's right… I have a fight today and __Hyourinmaru__ is here also. Oh well, here goes nothing I guess… _Just as I thought that, there was a knock at my door. "Come in." I said. I heard the door open and I turned to see who came in…it was Karin. "Hello Karin. What can I do for you today…or rather this morning?" I asked politely. "I'm just here to tell you that I will help you fight today. I think that Kenpachi would be an excellent warm-up for us, and then after the battle, we can go and train. Is that okay with you?" Karin asked. I smiled at her enthusiasm. "Well, here's the thing, I plan on telling all of the captains and lieutenants, and only them, about us and our…er…"special" connection…but that's only if you feel comfortable in doing so as well." I said. Karin nodded."Yeah, I'm fine if we tell them." "Alright then, let's go and get ready to fight." I said and got up, got dressed, and headed outside to confront Kenpachi about the terms and conditions of our fight.

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"Okay Kenpachi, how about this. We can have a battle, but we are a loud to have a person…"assist" us if we need it…but only ONE person, understand?" I said. Kenpachi smiled and laughed. "Sure, no problem kid." And he reached down and patted my head. I growled and closed my eyes. Suddenly, Kenpachi jumped and drew his hand back away from my head. "Ha! Did ya like that 'cause there's a whole lot more where that came from." I said and started walking away. "I will see you in one hour." I called out over my shoulder. "Fine…" I heard him grumble.

I used my light speed to run and find Karin. Of course, the first place I looked was the 10th squad office and my guess was correct. As I approached, I heard the sound of someone talking quietly and then a loud shout. "MATSUMOTO!!!" By this time I was almost at the 10th squad office door, but upon hearing the shout, I backed away from the door. It was a good thing I did to because the minute I backed away, the door flew open and out shot Matsumoto. As Matsumoto ran out, she caught sight of me and stopped running. She bowed to me and stayed in that position until I spoke. "Well hello Matsumoto. Where are you going in such a hurry?" I asked as kindly as I could. "I…um…well you see…er…" she stammered. "It's okay I know that you're running away because you didn't do your paperwork again, am I correct?" I asked her, but continued, not giving her a chance to respond,"… I know…how about this… we can make a bet. If I happen to loose in the fight against Kenpachi, then you will be officially released from paperwork for two whole months and I will give you a special surprise that I know for a fact that you will enjoy." At this, Matsumoto's light blue eyes lit up, but I wasn't finished speaking. "However, if I happen win the fight, then you have to do two months of paperwork all by yourself…and your captain's paperwork included." Matsumoto thought about this for a few seconds, and my smirk grew larger by the second. After about five minutes of just standing in complete silence, Matsumoto finally spoke. "Okay Stephany, you have a deal." I held out my hand and she took it in her hand and shook it. As Matsumoto turned to leave, I called out to her. "Oh and if it so happens that I do win and you don't keep your promise, well then…let's just say that I will personally see to it that all of the sake in the entire Seireitei will be destroyed." I turned and started to walk off to my destination (10th squad building to go get Karin) and I heard Matsumoto yell, "AWWWW THAT'S NO FAIR!!!!!" I smirked and knocked on the door. Karin opened it immediately. "Are you ready yet?" I asked Karin. She nodded in response and we started walking towards the place where the fight was to be held. Then I remembered something. "Hey Captain Hitsugaya, you are released from you duties concerning paperwork today because of the upcoming fight between myself and Kenpachi." I called over my shoulder then I whispered to Karin. "Hey you wanna race?" Karin looked at me with excitement in her eyes. "Oh yeah! You're so on!" she said. "Ok…on your mark, get set…-" "Go!!!" we heard another voice yell. Karin was so eager to run, her body moved but her feet didn't, so she fell face down on the ground. I couldn't help but laugh at her expression. It was a mix between fury and embarrassment. Karin turned to face the person who yelled and I felt bad for whoever it was (I didn't bother checking because I already knew…that's why I didn't move when the person yelled for us to go) because we were nowhere near the 4th squad district. Karin turned around and came face to face with none other than…Toushiro Hitsugaya."Y-O-U." Karin said very slowly to drag out the moment. I sighed and reached for Karin's arm. "Hey Karin, normally I would let you beat him up for this, but now is not the time. We have exactly…one minute until I am supposed to fight." Karin nodded. _ Ok here we go, for punishment, were gonna leave him in the dust. On your mark…get set…GO! _I yelled in my mind, and we both sped off, leaving Toushiro to just stand there comprehending what just happened to him. "HEY!!!"we heard him yell. We both smirked and high-fived each other as we jumped from building to building with our light speed.

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"Alright, this is how it's gonna work." Grandfather called out. I rolled my eyes; I just wanted to fight, not listen to a boring lecture on the rules. Kenpachi looked like he was in the same vote as me. After five minutes of listening to grandfather speak, I was so excited that I was starting to lose control of my energy. Kenpachi looked like he was in a similar state. "Okay, the winner is the one who stays conscious at the end of the battle. Ready, set, GO!" my grandfather yelled and shunpoed out of the way.

"Yer goin down…little girl." Kenpachi said. Oh that did it for me. I used light speed and before anyone knew what was happening, Kenpachi's feet came out from underneath him and he fell down. I laughed and he spun his head around, trying to find where I was. His head moved so fast I thought that he might have gotten a whiplash. "Hey, I'm over here!" I yelled at him. Immediately, he got to his feet, drew his zanpaktou and charged at me, with his sword held high. I waited as he came running towards me and when he was just close enough in range, I quickly hit his hand and his hand released his sword that he was holding. As soon as his grip loosened, I quickly grabbed it and put it to his throat. Kenpachi stopped as quickly as he could before his own sword decapitated him. As he came to a standstill, he spoke. "Not too bad for a little girl like yourself." He said, taunting me…and it worked. I drew back, and with his sword in my hand, lashed out at him, giving him many cuts and burses. After a few minutes of me cutting him, I was getting a little bit bored. So I gave him a particularly large wound on his right arm, making it difficult for him to hold his sword when he got it back. "Oh come on…I bored to tears here Kenpachi." I sneered. Kenpachi had a look in his eye that made me think that he was not even close to finished. I decided to make things a bit more…interesting. I used my light speed and with a swift stroke of my hand, I removed his eye patch. As I predicted, Kenpachi's spiritual pressure increased a huge amount, but it wasn't enough to even frighten me. But instead, I excited me, hoping that now it would become more of a challenge.

"Oh little girl, you just made the biggest mistake of your life." Kenpachi growled in a somewhat excited manor. I just smirked as Kenpachi's spiritual pressure continued to grow. Kenpachi watched my reaction to the growing of his spiritual pressure and his expression was one of amusement but then became one of shock and awe at how I could still stand.

"Wow, I must have really underestimated you little girl, if you can still stand, let alone fight with all of my pressure." I just smiled sweetly at him. "What spiritual pressure?" I asked. "Oh…you mean this is _your _spiritual pressure? I thought that this was a baby's not yours." My words did their job. Kenpachi was smirking but upon hearing my words, his smirk became a scowl. "Well then let's just see how well you fare then little girl." And with that, Kenpachi lunged at me. I was strong enough to see his movements, and when he was a sword's length away, I decided that it was time to actually become slightly more serious. I closed my eyes and concentrated. When I opened my eyes, Kenpachi was only two feet away from me. Then I yelled "Fire, Lightning Strike!" (this is one of my attacks without Karin's help) and a stream of fire and lightning flew out of my hand and onto Kenpachi's body, fully engulfing him. I heard a slight yell of surprise before it became silent. As my attack faded, a dense smoke surrounded Kenpachi. Everyone was so quiet, that you could hear a pen drop. Then everyone heard him laugh. "Well, that was quite an impressive attack, little girl. I will admit that you caught me off guard for a split second." I looked at the man. He had burns all over his body and his right arm was bleeding profusely. "Well, I'm just surprised that you actually survived the attack." I replied. "and that was just my warm up, you haven't even got me fired up yet. Geez I'm getting so-" but my speech was cut off as Kenpachi started running towards me. _Okay, I guess now it's time to really have some fun with this guy if he can withstand my fire and lightning strike. _I thought to myself. _Karin, I think that it's time that you summon my full potential. I may be just playing around, but I want to put some respect into these people. _I looked over and saw Karin nod. "Okay Kenpachi, now watch me closely because you might never open your eyes again after this." I said as I dodged his sword attack. "I use my "help" now. Karin release me!" I yelled. Kenpachi looked at me with a confused look as he continued to charge at me. "You are now going to learn a very valuable secret about me and Karin. Captains and lieutenants, you are not to tell anyone what you are about to witness in a few seconds." I yelled out to everyone. I looked over my shoulder and all of the captains and lieutenants nodding their heads. "Okay Karin, whenever you're ready." I yelled.

Then Karin stood up and spoke. "Rise and conquer the skies, Kaze Ryuu!" As Karin said this, I felt my own spiritual pressure rise and it became so strong, that Kenpachi had stopped in his tracks. Then I felt myself grow taller and a tall had appeared behind me, along with my entire dragon body. Then I roared. "Alright, you haven't seen nothin' yet! Wind Hurricane!" I yelled and a huge hurricane formed right in front of me. "Kenpachi!" I yelled, "You are in for one heck of a fight." And with those words, the hurricane raced down to where Kenpachi was standing. Kenpachi looked stunned for a total of five seconds. Then a thought crossed my mind: was he even human (spirit I corrected mentally)? I laughed out loud at that thought and looked to see Kenpachi whip his sword around and meet my hurricane dead on. To tell you the truth, I was impressed by this man's courage.

The impact cause a big explosion and Kenpachi flew backwards into the wall. When he stood back up, he coughed up a small amount of blood. But he was far from finished. "Wow. You actually managed to hurt me, but this is nothing!" he exclaimed. I rolled my eyes at him and he snickered. "My turn," he mumbled under his breath. Then, because of the raise of his spiritual pressure, he moved quicker than I thought and he swung his sword at me, only to be stopped and parried by my tall. "Ha! You will never beat me because there is only one thing in the entire universe ("that I know of" I added mentally) that can hurt me because of my scales. They are the strongest substance in the world." I boasted. "Well we'll see about that now wont we…" Kenpachi growled. "Very well…hurry up if you must. You truly are boring me to tears." I said. Kenpachi growled a response, but I tuned it out. Kenpachi took a step back, and then lunged once again at me. This course repeated itself for about five minutes before I truly got bored, and I decided to end it. As Kenpachi took an unusually large step away from me, I used that to my advantage. "Gravity Force 8!" I yelled. Kenpachi immediately fell to his knees and then fell on his face. "This fight is over." I said and I was correct. Kenpachi had passed out from his wounds and my latest attack. I released my hold on him and he started to breath normally again, but he was still unconscious. I turned to Karin and she had a mixed expression of awe and fear. I smiled at her and changed back into my human form.

***************

"Whoa! That was like totally awesome! Wow!...that was an amazing battle." Karin said, bubbling with excitement. I just smiled at her. "Hey Karin. I changed my mind. Let's not train today. We can do it tomorrow, okay?" Karin looked at me and then shrugged. "Sure, no problem." I looked at Karin and she looked at me. "Hey, because you helped me out today, why don't I make it up to you." Karin looked at me and shook her head. "No it's okay, you don't have to." "Yeah you're right, I _don't _have to, but I choose to. So I will allow you to ask me one question, any question, and I will answer it to the best of my abilities." Karin thought on that for a few minutes before replying, and her request caught me off guard. "Okay, I want you to tell me about you and the boy that you fell in love with." She said. I froze and she noticed this. "Oh…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that of you." She said but I just shook my head. "No it's okay. I'll tell you about him…"

***************

An hour and a half later, Karin and I were sitting on the outskirts of Rukongai, on a hill, looking at the sunset. "Okay, I'll tell you about my…relationship with him." I said. As I spoke, Karin and I both noticed that we were being followed. I sighed and Karin stood up. "I'll handle this." She murmured to me. I just nodded and looked away. "Hey, we know you're there…stalker." Karin said and I smirked. I knew that our little "stalker" would be drawn out of hiding upon being called that…and my guess was correct. "I am NOT a stalker. I was simply interested as in where you both were heading off to, so I decided to-" "Stalk us?" Karin finished. "No! I just-" "Yeah Yeah, I don't really care what you were doing Shiro." Karin said, and turned on her heels to come and sit by me on the grass. Then what happened next caught all of us completely off guard. Hyourinmaru appeared. I stood up and glared at the dragon and my spiritual pressure began to spike up.

Then something suddenly appeared on my wrist. "What the hell is this?!" I yelled, grabbing my wrist. "It's a binding bracelet made with real (1)_sterling_ silver." Hyourinmaru said with a glint in his eyes. "Ha ha real funny, now get it off of me." I demanded. Hyourinmaru shook his head. "No way." I growled and the temperature dropped at least ten degrease. Everyone looked at Toushiro, but he just waved his hands in front of him, indicating that it wasn't him, then everyone turned back to me. "Energy restraint!" Hyourinmaru yelled and I could feel my energy starting to leave me. "No!" I hissed through my teeth. Then I felt a hand on my arm. It was Karin. "Kaze Ryuu, you need to calm down." She whispered in my ear. I obeyed and took a deep breath that helped me calm down a drastic amount. Then I turned to confront Hyourinmaru. "W-why did you l-leave me all of those y-years ago?" I asked. Hyourinmaru released the restraint on me and sighed. "T-the boy was born…" Hyourinmaru said and flicked his tail to indicate that "the boy" was Toushiro. Then I felt a guilt rise inside of me. "But then why didn't you come and find me. You and I both know that you could move freely if you wanted to, I'm living proof of that." I said. Hyourinmaru hesitated. "There were…complications." "Like what?" I growled. "Well as you know, when our wielder is born as a human, then you become one with them and go into a deep sleep. Well, when the boy died and we were taken to Rukongai, the first district, that is where I awoke from my long sleep. But by that time, possibly twenty years had passed by and because we weren't on earth, then there was no way for me to search for you." Hyourinmaru explained. I just nodded, feeling guiltier by the second. Then I felt Hyourinmaru's tall rap around my shoulders in a comforting manor. I sighed and relaxed then Hyourinmaru whispered something. "Energy restraint release." At that command, I felt that my energy was indeed released. I looked up to see two confused faces looking at us. I sighed. "Okay, when I was a little girl, I met him," I said pointing with my thumb over my shoulder at Hyourinmaru, "and we became best friends. He even saved me once. But anyways, we started to have a relationship with each other, even though it wasn't aloud." When I said this, Karin and Toushiro looked at me with a confused look in their eyes. "He was a prince, and I was just another human…well technically I was much more powerful than any normal human because I was and still am an elemental, but that was besides the point. He was the prince and I was, for his mother cared, just another annoying human. But somehow, he was able to convince his mother to let him stay with me. Well we were together for a few years before…I had believed that he left me. Only when Toushiro arrived here at the Seireitei, I figured out that Hyourinmaru was his spirit." I said and then turned to face Toushiro. "You are very fortunate to have him. He is the Dragon of Ice and very powerful as well. He may be hard and cold on the outside, but in the insides, he is extremely kind…I would know…" I said and then I felt Hyourinmaru's tall rap around my waist as he started to speak to Karin. "Yes, that may be so, but she is the Dragon of Wind. That is why she is…what do you call it…unbeatable." "And w-why is that?" Toushiro asked, somewhat timidly. "Because without air, then nothing can live. For example, she is the master of fire because you need three things to start it. Something that will burn, heat, and oxygen. Oxygen is air and she controls that. In water, it is formed by one hydrogen and oxygen molecules. Therefore, she is the master of that as well. And earth…need I say more?" Hyourinmaru asked. They both shook their heads no and Hyourinmaru smiled. "Alright, then. I guess it's time for me to show my own wielder something." Hyourinmaru said and he began to shine. I knew exactly what he was doing, he was transforming into his human form.

As the light faded, there was a man standing in the place where Hyourinmaru was just a few seconds earlier. Then I couldn't contain myself any longer. I ran up and embraced the man. The man hugged me back and I smiled into his shoulder. The man had somewhat dark brown hair and sky blue eyes (The color of his "Hyourinmaru" scales…yes this is Hyourinmaru as a human in my opinion.) The man I fell in love with was back, and I was in his arms. Then I remembered my wielder and Toushiro. I pulled away from the embrace and the man had a somewhat hurt look in his eyes. I smiled at him and indicated with my head towards both of our wielders. When I did this, he understood what I was doing so he let his hands settle on my waist as I introduced him. "Karin and Toushiro, this is…Sterling…a-k-a Hyourinmaru when he is in his dragon form." Karin and Toushiro nodded their heads, and I turned to face Karin. "And that is the story of my…er…love life, if you will." I said with a smile and Karin laughed.

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Me: ok wow…I have been wanting to write this chapter for a long time now. I have always thought it to be cute. Well I hope that I didn't confuse anybody with the naming part. Hyourinmaru= dragon & Sterling= human ;Kaze Ryuu= dragon & Stephany= human. I hope that that cleared it up a bit, and the hint that I left (about Hyourinmaru's human name) was where the (1) was. The name of the sliver (_sterling_ silver) was italicized. I hope that people understand.

Toushiro: AWWW! That was clever and sneaky at the same time.

Karin: yup!

Me: well I will do my best to update as soon as I can but like I said…im going to be starting summer school soon so plz bear with me. ^.^ thanks for everyone (especially ShikallllTema) for their support. PLZ REVIEW! The more reviews, the quicker ill update!!! And I'll give everyone a quick summery of the next chapter.

The next chapter is called "War and Betrayal. It's kinda obvious and original, I know, but there's gonna be another kind of twist to it as well. Anyways, Aizen has finally made his move and has proven that he will do everything in his power to over through the Seireitei, but what about Momo Hinamori choose to do? And how will this affect Toushiro and Karin's relationship?

Well that's the best summery I can give you without giving everything away…and yes there is going to be a few battles here and there…and one of them is extremely crucial and it will prove just how much Karin feels for Toushiro. Oh one last thing. I have been meaning to say this in all of my other chapters, but I have been forgetting: sorry about any typing mistakes that are in the story, im trying my hardest to make it as well as I can…well that's all. Until next time! ^.^


	8. War and Betrayal

Me: okay this chapter is dedicated to Milde because she has allowed me to use her short story in this chapter. Her short story is called "Quite Tune" and it's really good. Her short story is the part when Toushiro is in the ice and Karin comes to save him. So thanks Milde for letting me use your short story!!!!!

Karin: ok well I guess I will do the disclaimers. Winter doesn't own Bleach, she just owns Stephany, Sterling, and (with the help and idea from Milde) parts of the war. Now on to the story (and if you're wondering where Toushiro is, he's catching up on his sleeping because we are about to go into war and we need to be rested and prepared). ^.^

Me: Oh! One last thing, in this story, Karin will go back to the human world and Toushiro will be in the war. To indicate that im switching POV, I will put ether "War" or "Karin". But that's only when the war begins, not at the beginning of the story.

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War and Betrayal

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"Hey Karin? You and Toushiro can't tell ANYONE about what we have told you about our relationship, okay?" Karin and Toushiro nodded together and I started to smile because I remembered something. "Hey Toushiro, I just remembered something that might cheer you up even more." Toushiro turned to look at me. "And what would that be?" he asked. I started to smirk. "You lieutenant, Matsumoto, and I made a bet, and I won." I said. "Okay, well what does that have to do with me?" He asked. "Our bet was that if I lost the battle with Kenpachi, then she would be released from paperwork for two months, but if I won, then she would have to do the paperwork for two months…and it included yours." I said smirking triumphantly. Toushiro's eyes lit up for a split second and then it died down. "Well that was a good idea and all, but how are you going to make her follow through with the promise?" Toushiro asked. "I told her that if she didn't follow through with it, then I would personally see to it that all of the sake in the entire Seireitei would be destroyed." Toushiro then flashed a genuine smile.

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_Two weeks later, the "naming" ceremony._

"I will now announce the new Head Captain, my granddaughter, Stephany." Grandfather called out. I smiled, stood up, and received my Captain haori. "You are now the new Head Captain and the Captain of Squad 1. Congratulations!" He said. A_nd I will be checking up on you as well from time to time. _Grandfather said in his mind. I just smiled and nodded. Then I turned around and took my seat as grandfather continued to speak. "I shall be leaving the Seireitei in two hours. I just wanted to say thank you to all of my Captains and Lieutenants for all of the hard work they brought forth to this place." And upon saying that, grandfather bowed to everyone, and we all bowed back.

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_Two hours later_

"Good bye grandfather. Be safe on your trip!" I yelled at him as he expected through the gate that led to the human world. _You know where I will be, so if there is any trouble, do not hesitate to come and find me. _Grandfather thought to me. I nodded and yelled out loud. "Will do, bye!" and with that, he was gone.

***************

"Okay, Head Captain, what do we do now?" Karin asked me in a joking manor. "Hmmm…that's a good question. Well I know what I'm going to do." I said. "And what would that be?" Karin asked. "I am going to go and change. I hate having to walk around in these clothes. I'll be right back so just stay put." I told Karin and I wasn't joking ether. I used my light speed and raced into my room. I looked around and found a pair of blue jeans, a white tank-top, and then a cute gray sweater to wear over my tank top. After I changed, I raced right back to where Karin was waiting for me. "Whoa! I didn't expect you to be back so fast. I like what you are wearing by the way." Karin said. I smiled. "Thanks…hey you wanna race to the 10th squad?" I asked Karin. She nodded and counted us off. "On your mark, get set, GO!" she yelled and we both shot off so fast, that we five seconds after we left the starting spot, the dust flew up (I really hope that made sense).

It took us thirteen seconds to reach the 10th squad office. _Knock, knock, knock. _"Come in." we heard and entered. I entered first and looked around. Toushiro was relaxing at his desk while his lieutenant was hard at work with the papers. As soon as they both saw me enter, they stood up only to bow to me. I sighed and waved them off. "Okay okay. You both can get up now." As I said this, Toushiro returned to his desk and the same for Matsumoto. "So…how are you faring Rangiku?" I asked her, smirking. Matsumoto looked up to glare at me and pout. "I can't believe that I made that deal with you Stephany." Matsumoto whined. I just smiled. "Well I brought you something to help you work." I said as I pulled out of my pocket a glass full of silver looking liquid and handed it to her. "Here, drink it." I encouraged. Matsumoto hesitantly took a sip, paused, swallowed, and then gulped down the rest and smiled. "Wow! What was that? That was really good, better than any sake that I have ever tasted." Matsumoto exclaimed. "That, my friend, is a very special kind of sake. Remember the day that we made the bet I told you I had a surprise for you? Well this is it. That sake will fulfill your…er…needs when it comes to the drinking habit you have." Matsumoto nodded and I continued. "Well, that sake will keep you content for the rest of the day and tomorrow, if you continue to keep your promise to me, then I will bring you another one. Oh and the drink that I gave you will not only satisfy you, but you will also remain somber." "Really? Wow that's cool. How did you make that?" she asked me. "Simple, I just take a little bit of normal sake, and add some of my energy to it." Matsumoto just nodded, smiled, and got back to work. Then I saw Karin walk over to Toushiro and sit in his lap. I smiled and turned to leave before I felt a sudden chill hit the air and then something rap around my waist, pulling me backwards. I willingly fell backwards because I knew that _he _would catch me, and right I was. I landed on something that was hard but smooth at the same time. Hyourinmaru scales. I looked up into his eyes and his eyes softened as they met mine. "Hey, what's up?" I asked him. "Oh nothing much since he's just sittin' there." Hyourinmaru replied. I just nodded, unsure of what to do next. I turned and looked around and I couldn't help the laugh that came out. Matsumoto had the funniest look on her face. It was a mix of disbelief, amusement, and confusion. Just as I turned back to look at Hyourinmaru, he disappeared back into Toushiro's sword and I fell to the ground, hitting my head. I growled, and my necklace started to glow. Then I went into my spirit form and went into Karin and my necklace, determined to give Hyourinmaru a tongue lashing for what he did to me. As I was yelling at him, I could hear Karin laughing at me for what I was saying. "Wow, she's really letting him have a piece of her mind." I heard her tell Toushiro and then she started laughing. I growled one final comment towards the hard-headed ice dragon and then returned to my normal human form. When I appeared, I saw Karin hugging her sides because she was laughing so hard, she couldn't breathe and she had tears coming out of her eyes. I looked at her and she just laughed harder. I couldn't help but let a small chuckle escape my lips at the sight of Karin lying on the ground laughing her guts out. Then Hyourinmaru had the nerve to appear once again, and smiling! I turned and growled at him, but he continued to smirk at me. Then he quickly reached down and grabbed my right hand and looked at it. And there it was, the energy restraint bracelet that he put on me all those years ago. But when he disappeared (when he was a human) so did the bracelet, but when we met again, the bracelet reappeared on my wrist.

"Shut up." I growled playfully at him. "But I didn't say anything." He said as he dropped my wrist. "…whatever…" I mumbled. "Oh Karin, I have something I need to do, will you be okay here?" I asked, already knowing the answer anyways. "Yeah I will be just fine here." She replied. I smiled at her and then stood up. "Okay then, I'll be back a little bit later, bye." I said and then walked out…and Hyourinmaru followed! "What are you doing?" I asked him, but instead of answering, he just leaned down and kissed my cheek and then just stood there, watching me blush. It took me a total of ten seconds for it to dawn on me what just happened and by that time, Hyourinmaru's smirk grew. "…H-Y-O-U-R-I-N-M-A-R-U!!!!" I yelled at him. "Yes?" he said, ever so politely. "…R-U-N…" I growled at him, but he just seemed relaxed. "Nope." He stated firmly. I growled something, but then decided that now was not the time to lose my temper. Then I started to look for a Hell Butterfly. When I finally found one, ten minutes had passed and Hyourinmaru was _still_ following me. I just shrugged and then spoke to the Butterfly.

Here is my message and I want this delivered to all captains and Lieutenants.

"I am to train with all of the Captains and Lieutenants once per month. Captains are allowed to choose their day first and then the lieutenants." I said to the Hell Butterfly. And it started to fly away but I remembered something. "Oh, but don't worry about telling the 10th squad captain and lieutenant, I will tell them personally. And this is mandatory for all captains and lieutenants except Captain Unohana and Isane, they have the choice to participate or not, okay you're dismissed." I told the Butterfly, and it flew off to deliver the message.

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_One month later_

_Clash! _The sound of metal against metal rang out in the clearing. "Hmmm…not bad Renji but try and talking with Zabimaru more…try working together…yes just like that!" I said as Renji came closer to hitting me. I looked up at the sky. "Okay…I think that your training session is over for today. Great job! You're really making great progress." I encouraged. Renji nodded and said a quick "thanks" before getting up and leaving.

Everyone knew the routine after one session with me. Both the Captain and lieutenant would come in the morning and I would fight the Captain first. Then when we were done, I would fight the Lieutenant and when we were finished, then both of them would be released from their duties for that day.

***************

_One year later_

"Head Captain! Something's not right." Toushiro said to me. "Yes I know, and it's Stephany, for the last time." I whispered. It was early in the cool autumn morning, and Toushiro had approached me, cautiously.

"Gin is acting weird and I just saw him talking with Tosen. Its rather nerve racking." Toushiro explained. I just nodded and listened to what he had to say. "Yes I have noticed that they have been acting strange lately. There was more than one reason that I have been training with everyone over this past year. I have noticed that Gin and Tosen keep…er…their attention span is getting smaller…it's like their minds are somewhere else." I said. "Yeah…" Toushiro said and then fell silent.

Toushiro and I just started walking and then we heard a loud ear-piercing scream. "Momo!" Toushiro yelled, and shunpoed towards the place where the scream came from. I followed him and as we came to the place, we saw Momo Hinamori crying her heart out and Toushiro ran to comfort her.

"Shhh Momo, what's wrong?" Toushiro asked her. "It's C-c-captain A-Aizen." She sobbed and pointed to something above her head. We both looked and I felt my stomach churn at the sight. The body of Captain Aizen was hanging off of a building and blood was running down the wall. It was truly gruesome. Then a voice started speaking. "Well ain't this jus' terrible?" We all turned to face the speaker, Gin Ichimaru. Then I heard Momo scream, "You! How could y-you do this to C-captain A-aizen?!" she screamed and ran towards Gin, with her zanpaktou raised. I sighed and was about to intercede when suddenly, Gin's lieutenant, Izuru Kira, parried Momo's attack. "Get out of the way!" Momo screeched and tried to lunge at Kira and/or Gin but Toushiro got there first.

"Please Momo! You must calm down." He pleaded with her, but no matter what he said or did, she continued to struggle with her captives. After ten minutes of her struggling, I had had enough. I stood up, approached her and then put my hand to her forehead, making her go to sleep. "Alright. Make sure that she's restrained and lock her up." I said to no one unparticular. Then I felt an emotion run through me. I looked down and I saw my necklace glowing. The emotion I felt was…hurt. _Karin, are you okay? _I asked her. I turned to look at her and she nodded, but I could see it in her eyes, the pain that she tried so very hard to conceal from everyone, but it didn't work on me. I used my light speed and ran up to give her a hug and she complied with it, almost breaking down into tears. "Shhh. It's okay." I said in a soothing voice. Karin just looked at me and a few tears escaped her eyes. I sighed and then spoke to her. "Hey I know what might cheer you up, why don't you go to the human world and visit your family?" I suggested. "I can assign you there as a look out and you can keep your home town safe from hollows because I can sense a huge war brewing." I said and looked at her. Her eyes said it all. "Okay, you can leave tomorrow, I will personally see to it that you get there safely, okay?" Karin nodded and then fell asleep in my arms.

***************

"Toushiro, I am going to be going to the human world for a while, okay?" Karin said to Toushiro. "Yeah, whatever, have fun." Toushiro mumbled and raced out of the office, not seeing the hurt expression that crossed Karin's face. However, Matsumoto noticed it and ran to comfort Karin as soon as Toushiro was gone.

"What a jerk," I heard Matsumoto mumble and then turn back to Karin. _Knock, knock. _"Come in." Matsumoto called out. "Oh Head Captain, how are you." Matsumoto asked. I turned to look at her. "I'm…fine…and yourself?" I asked. "Never better." She replied, but I could tell that it was forced. Then I turned to Karin who was on the couch, hugging her legs against herself. "Karin, it's time to go." I said and Karin just nodded. Karin stood up and stretched and was ready to go.

When we reached the gate, I performed a special technique and the gate opened. "I have made it so that you will arrive in your hometown…well right in front of your house, actually." I said. Karin turned to me. "Thank you…for everything." She said. I smiled. "Hey no problem, what are friends for?" I said. Karin smiled slightly, took a deep breath and started walking into the gate. "Oh and don't hesitate to call me if there is any trouble, just remember your training and you should do fine without my help. I will check up on you from time to time so don't get yourself in too much trouble." I joked as she nodded and the gates closed.

***************

"Head Captain! There are too many of them, were terribly outnumbered! What do you want us to do?" a voice yelled at me. I turned to see that the voice belonged to Rangiku who was running towards me. When she reached me, I could see that she was bleeding from many wounds on her arm and if she didn't get them healed immediately, then she could possibly die from blood loss. "Here, hold out your arms." I commanded her and she obeyed. I closed my eyes and concentrated very hard, then when I opened my eyes, Rangiku's arms were enveloped in a green glowing light. When the glowing stopped after one minute, Rangiku's arms looked as good as new (quite literally) and she looked amazed. "I have a healing ability that is almost like Orihime's, but unlike her, I am maybe 10 times faster. But there's no time to talk, where is Hyourinmaru and Toushiro?" I asked. "I…I don't know…I am sorry…" and with that, she shunpoed off into the fight.

About ten more minutes later, Ichigo appeared to help fight. Ichigo was at once put into a battle with an arrancar named Grimmjow. I was lucky and did not have anyone to fight, so I made myself useful and went around healing those who were severely injured. After I healed all those in my sight that need attention to, I decided to look for the 10th squad captain.

I closed my eyes and felt for his spiritual pressure and after a minute of searching, I finally found it and I raced over to take a look. As I quietly approached him, I saw that he was in a battle with none other than the traitor, Aizen…and someone else was with him. Momo Hinamori.

"No!" I hissed through my teeth as I saw Aizen launch an attack, and it landed successfully and then Momo attacked him, just as he was recovering from the blow. A growl erupted from my throat at the sight of Toushiro getting injured, and in his Bankai form as well. Then I saw Momo shunpo and knock his feet out from underneath him, and then Aizen bring his sword down for the final attack. That was when I couldn't bear to see anymore. I quickly ran out onto the battle field and I felt my dragon tall appear, so I swung it just as it was descending upon Toushiro's head. My tall met with Aizen's sword with a loud _clang. _ I looked down to see a somewhat dazed Toushiro lying on the ground. I looked to see what Aizen was doing and I saw that he was circling me, hoping that I would fall into his trap, but I was stronger so I could see him actually move, not his illusions like Toushiro saw. "Hey, do you want to do the finishing blow to Aizen or not?" I whispered to Toushiro. "I…wanna…be the…one to…avenge…Hinamori…" Toushiro just managed to say. I nodded and closed my eyes. When I opened them, Toushiro was enveloped by the glowing green light just like Rangiku was, and he was healed in a matter of seconds.

"ok..well then I'll just take Hinamori then." As I spoke these words, Toushiro whipped his head around and glared at me. "Don't kill her." Toushiro stated firmly. I looked into his eyes and then nodded. "Alright, I will try not to but I'm not making any promises." I said and I went off to fight Momo, leaving Aizen to Toushiro.

"Prepare yourself, Aizen!" was the last thing I heard before I became engrossed in my own battle.

***************

_Karin_

"Karin, what's wrong my lovely daughter?" Isshin asked her. "Oh it's nothing for you to worry about dad." Karin replied. "Okay, if your sure." He replied, suddenly becoming serious. "Um Karin, I think that it's time I told you something that I should have told you long ago…" Isshin said and started to tell Karin a story about him being a shinigami, and a captain at that.

***************

_Stephany_

"Momo, please! Open your eyes! Aizen is just using you." I yelled at her. "No! Aizen would never do that to me!" she yelled at me while swinging her zanpaktou at me. I blocked it and then pushed her back using my tall. "Please hear me out Momo! Captain Hitsugaya is worried about you, he doesn't want you to get hurt by that man's hand." I persisted. "NO YOU'RE COMPLETELY WRONG!" she screeched at me. I sighed…_I will give her one last chance. _"Momo. I am not wrong! Hi is only using you…why can't you just accept that?!" I yelled at her, but she just shook her head and I sighed. "Momo…this is your last chance. Stop fighting me and give up. If you do then I can spear you the pain and misery of dying by my hand." I told her. "No…I will not give up, for the sake of my captain, I will fight until my death." And with that, she lunged and I knew that she was done for. "I am so sorry Hinamori…Toushiro…" I whispered and then I transformed into my full dragon form. "Dragon venom." I whispered. Then I used my light speed and got behind Momo. When I was directly behind her, I leaned my head down and sunk my teeth into her flesh and injected my venom. My fight was over…

***************

Everyone in the battlefield fell to their knees because of the huge amount of reiatsu. Matsumoto turned to watch where she felt her Captain's reiatsu come crashing down.

"What's happening_?_" She thought out loud. Then she saw a huge ice dragon circling around the 10th squad captain. Toushiro had won the battle between him and Aizen. The dragon's icy blue scales shinned and his red eyes started to glow. He let out a loud sorrowful cry and then there was blinding white light while the temperature lowered several degrees and it started to snow. When the bright light faded away there was massive iceberg and inside it was the young, white haired captain, Toshiro Hitsugaya. His teal eyes were closed as if he were sleeping. Hyourinmaru surrounded himself protectively around the ice, close to Toushiro's body and cried out a sorrowful roar, and like a command from the dragon, the weather become even worse. It was raining heavily and because of the freezing temperature and stormy wind, the rain drops felt like icy daggers. Few low ranking arrancars and shinigamis lost their lives due to the weather. After the shock of what they witnessed a group of arrancars started to approach the ice Captain, hoping for an easy kill. Everyone close enough could hear low, blood freezing growl from the dragon but that didn't stop the arrancars. They kept going closer which made Hyourinmaru roar in anger and he attacked the enemies by freezing them to death. The arrancar army started to retreat back to Hueco Mundo through the black holes in the sky. When the holes were closed and every last arrancar had gone, the storm stopped and the remaining shinigamis gathered around the iceberg but backed away quickly when the magnificent ice dragon growled at them; his red eyes shining warningly as if saying:

"If you try to come closer, you will end up much worse than icicles."

Suddenly another black hole appeared out of nowhere and all of the shinigamis tensed up, but all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw who had stepped out of the hole. It was Isshin Kurosaki and his two daughters.

"What are you doing brining them here on the battlefield?" Ichigo asked his father pointing his little sisters.

"Battlefield? I don't see any battles; besides, Karin sensed that something was wrong here and begged me to bring her here with me." Isshin said. By now the black haired twin had looked through all the shinigamis, but she did not meet the one she needed to see.

"Where is he?" She asked suddenly. Only Matsumoto knew who she meant. She pointed in the direction of the iceberg and the dragon.

"Over there" she whispered sadly.

Karin looked with her dark grey eyes into Hyourinmaru's glowing red ones. She started to walk closer to the dragon. Everyone held their breath and Ichigo was ready to shunpo to Karin and take her to safety if the dragon should attack. To everyone's surprise the zanpaktou spirit loosened his hold on the ice so the black haired tomboy could easily see the Gotei 13 youngest captain. She placed her hand on the ice and Hyourinmaru started to back off. The ice started to melt away from Toushiro. When he was free from the ice, he opened his teal eyes just to be met with Karin's dark grey eyes. She was the one who had held his heart in her hands for many years.

"Karin" he managed to say before collapsing into Karin's arms from exhaustion. She caught him and hugged him tightly to her body. The raven head girl watched the dragon return to the boy's blade.

"Everything is going to be alright now" Karin whispered in his ear before the 4th squad members, along with Toushiro's lieutenant, Matsumoto, rushed to help him.

***************

Toushiro, the 10th division captain of Gotei 13, opened his eyes to see a white ceiling of 4th squad barracks. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He turned to his head to look at Karin's sleeping figure. Karin felt a light movement on the mattress and opened her eyes to look directly into Toushiro's beautiful teal eyes.

"Hey, you're awake," she said, smiling.

"Yeah…how long was I out?" Toushiro asked.

"Three days and Captain Unohana said that you still need to rest a while longer," Karin said and Toushiro gave her genuine smile before closing his eyes again. Karin waited until Toushiro was fully asleep before she stood up to leave.

"Good night Toshiro," She said as she pecked him on the lips and left the room. After the door was closed, the boy genius smiled again.

"Karin…" he mumbled in his sleep, and then drifted off into his dream world where he would meet Hyourinmaru, Karin, and Kaze Ryuu.

***************

Me: omg im finally finished with this chapter! I hope that yall loved it! It is my longest chappy yet! Well I have summer school starting tomorrow so I won't be able to update even half as fast so im sorry. And I am hopelessly running out of ideas for this story so ideas are helpful!

Karin: ya so plz review

Toushiro: hey my fighting scene wasn't in the story!!!

Me: ya because I will put it up later on in the story

Toushiro: oh…okay…wait…what happened to Hinamori?

Karin: *Humph and stomps away*

Toushiro: K-Karin?

Me: u will c and no the venom doesn't kill her right away so she is NOT dead…yet

Toushiro: …Yet???

Me: ya and I will explain that later as well. So until my nxt chapter, REVIEW!!!!!!!!! (and like I said at the beginning, this chapter is dedicated to Milde because it was her short story that helped me a WHOLE bunch. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. And im just apologizing now for the long wait…so…SORRY!!!!!


	9. The Test and the Pain it Comes With

Me: okay, here is chapter 9. I am writing this chapter during my summer school class…so if I fail summer school, then just know that it was because I was so busy writing this fanfic

Toushiro: Yes and we truly appreciate that

Karin: oh just shut up!

Toushiro: …K-Karin? What's wrong?

Karin: Nothing! *stomps off*

Toushiro: …uh…well ok then…um…Winter does not own Bleach… *runs off yelling Karin's name*

Me: *sigh* boys can be so dense sometimes (boys, no offence but when you have a girlfriend who is completely obsessed with you, then don't go off and leave her for another girl NO MATTER WHAT!)

Karin: Who're you callin "obsessed"?

Me: *gulp* hold on Karin, I need to say one thing first before you punch my lights out…this chapter is NOT a happy chapter. This one is more between Toushiro and Momo (hey, no flames plz, I know that this is a HitsuKarin, but I just felt the need to write this chapter …and if it helps, Momo's in a whole lot of pain in this story) but I don't plan on her dying just yet…im not sure if she _will _die yet…oh well now…RUN!!!

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The Test and the Pain it Comes With

***************

As Toushiro opened his eyes, he knew immediately that he was in his dream world because Hyourinmaru, Karin and I (in human form) were there, and we were standing on an icy plane. I turned to look at Karin and spoke. "I think he's waking up." I said and Karin nodded in response. "H-hey, what are you guys doin' here?" Toushiro asked in a weak voice…but it was the wrong question to ask. "Why do you care anymore? All you now care about it your precious Momo. Would you prefer that she is here instead of me?" Karin yelled at him. I looked at Hyourinmaru and then turned back to Karin and Toushiro. Toushiro looked like he had been slapped on the face, and really hard. "Toushiro, please forgive her. She's…just upset that you left her during the war. She felt that you chose her over Hinamori." I explained. "Oh I see. Well on that note, what _did _happen to Hinamori?" Toushiro asked. "ARGGG!!! I can't believe you!" Karin screeched. Toushiro looked stunned as he back traced his words. Then he understood. "Karin…Karin please listen to me!" Toushiro begged. "I care for Hinamori because she was my only family, except Granny, when we were younger. I only think of her-" "As your _real _girlfriend, right?" Karin said. Toushiro shook his head. "No, only as a sister. I cared and still do care for her like my older sister and when Aizen…"possessed" her with his ideas, then I just got protective of her because I thought that she would get hurt." Toushiro tried to explain, but it only made it worse. "But…but she wasn't the only one who got hurt…" Karin whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "K-Karin…I…" "Don't!" Karin yelled, looking into his eyes. "Don't ever come near me again, Toushiro! You and I are through! Now why don't you run along to your precious Momo, who is now lying on her death bed!" Karin yelled and then our necklace began to glow and Karin began to fade out of sight. "KARIN, WAIT!" Toushiro hollered, but Karin was gone.

Then Toushiro turned to me. "W-what have I d-done?" Toushiro whispered to himself, falling to his knees and brining his hands up to cover his eyes. I looked at Hyourinmaru, but he just shook his head. _Why don't you give him one last chance. Tell him and see what he will do. If he chooses the other girl over Karin, then I have no right to be with you, for I know that this is what it was like for you, except much more worse and for that I am truly sorry. _Hyourinmaru said to me through his thoughts. But I just shook my head._ No Hyourinmaru. If Toushiro __does__ go to that Hinamori girl, then I still will not reject you, if you are willing to stay with me, then I am willing to allow you to. _I replied. Hyourinmaru smiled a sad smile at me and nodded. "Very well." He said, as I turned to Toushiro. "What are you going to do now?" I asked him in a soft voice. "H-how can you still talk to me. Aren't you furious with me, just like Karin? I know that you have every right to be, yet you are still here." Toushiro said, but I ignored most of what he said. "What are you going to do now, Toushiro?" I asked again. Toushiro looked at the ground and sighed. "I…I don't know. Will you please tell me what happened after I passed out?" Toushiro asked. I nodded and explained everything I knew about what happened to everyone…except about one person. As soon as I was finished explaining, I waited for Toushiro to speak, hoping that he wouldn't ask the one question about the person I missed out. If he asked about _her_, then there would be nothing that I could do for Karin and Toushiro.

"W-what…what a-about…Momo?" Toushiro asked and I froze. I lowered my head and whispered to myself. "I am so sorry Karin." Then I looked at Toushiro with a somewhat fierce expression. "You…just failed the test." I said simply and turned to walk over to Hyourinmaru. "Wait! What test?" Toushiro asked me. I turned to look at him and sighed. "Toushiro. Karin gave her heart to you, and all you can think about was Momo. I told you everything about how Karin saved you from the ice and she saved your life, but again, all you thought about was that _other _girl." I closed my eyes and shook my head back and forth. "I…I'm sorry…Hyourinmaru…" I whispered. I heard him growl a response, but I didn't hear it so I just shrugged. "Toushiro. What Karin said was true…_both _things. Hinamori _is _in fact on her death bed, and she was also not the only one hurt. You broke her heart…Captain Hitsugaya. Maybe you do have a heart of ice…" I said. Toushiro looked ashamed of himself. "I will talk to you later Hyourinmaru. Do not forget, understand?" I asked the dragon. He just nodded and looked away. I touched one of his scales and he started to glow. After a few seconds, he had transformed into a human…Sterling. "I will see you soon." I said to him as he reached out and hugged me. "Very well…" he whispered and my necklace started to glow, making me fade out, just like Karin. "Bye…" I said, and then saw no more.

***************

_One week later_

"You are free to go Captain Hitsugaya." Unohana said. "Thank you, Captain Unohana. Please tell me, how is Momo?" Toushiro asked. Unohana stiffened slightly and then relaxed once again. "I am sorry Captain Hitsugaya, but we cannot find an antidote to the poison that is in her body, nor can we remove it, in fear of it killing her. But Captain Kurotsuchi and his lieutenant are doing everything they can possible." Unohana explained. "I see…" Toushiro said. "Well, may I go visit her?" Toushiro asked. Unohana looked at Toushiro for a few seconds before responding. "Yes…but what about Karin? Aren't you going to see her?" Toushiro hesitated. "I will see her _after _I see Momo." Unohana nodded and then ushered him to Momo's room. When Toushiro saw her, he gasped. She looked terrible. She had tubes down her throat and needles in her hand and everything. "Oh my gosh…Momo…" Toushiro whispered.

"Ah, so what do you think of her now?" I asked Toushiro in a hard and cold voice. Toushiro whipped around to face me, his eyes burning with hatred. "What did you do to her?!" he yelled at me. I sighed and used my light speed to touch Toushiro's sword's hilt. As I touched it and drew my hand away, it began to glow and Hyourinmaru appeared. "Captain Unohana, will you please excuse us for a few minutes?" I asked as politely as I could. "Of course Head Captain." She said, bowed, and then left the room. "Wow I can't believe that you did that to her." Hyourinmaru said. I just shrugged. "Wait…YOU did this to her?!" Toushiro yelled at me. I simply nodded. "Well, I didn't put all those things in her (indicating the tubes and needles), but I caused her to be on her death bed…if that answers your question." As I finished speaking, the temperature dropped down by ten degrees. I simply shook my head back and forth; then I raised my hand and waved it around, then returned it back to my sided. As my hand landed on my waist, the temperature in the room returned back to normal. "H-Hyourinmaru, what is she talking about?" Toushiro asked the dragon, but he just shook his head. "I will not say. I lost the woman that I loved once and I don't want to lose her again." Hyourinmaru said. "So you're willing to take _her _side over _mine_?" Toushiro asked with disbelief. Hyourinmaru opened his mouth to reply but I just put my hand on his shoulder blade to get his attention. When he looked at me I spoke. "Don't. I don't want you to have to choose between me and your wielder. You had me back when I learned that you didn't leave on your own free will, but because he was born. When I learned that, I was happy and I gladly took you back." I told him. Hyourinmaru looked at me and then transformed. "What?" I asked him, but instead he just walked over to me and hugged me, holding me tightly in his arms. "Thank you, but just to let you know…I would pick your side over anybodies, any day…" Sterling whispered in my ear and I felt myself blush. "Hyourinmaru…Sterling, please tell me what is going on, I have a right to know!" Toushiro demanded. "Ha! And what right is that?" I challenged. Toushiro shrank back under my gaze. "That's what I thought!" I growled, then I gasped. "Karin!" I yelled, turning around and right in the entrance way was Karin. "I…I don't care anymore!" she yelled. "Just heal her, Kaze Ryuu!" Karin said. "Karin…" I said and then trailed off into silence.

We were all so engrossed in our conversation, that we didn't hear or sense her approaching, but I knew that she had heard the _whole _conversation. "J-just heal her…so Toushiro can…be h-happy a-again…" Karin said, whispering the last part. I looked at her and I saw that once again, she had tears running down her face as she spoke those words. Then with one final sad and devastated look at Toushiro, she took off running to the 10th squad office to find Matsumoto. "You know Toush-…Captain Hitsugaya, dragon venom is hard to cure and _extremely _painful." I said, narrowing my eyes. "There is only one cure for it and only the dragon that inserted the venom knows what it is…" I said with an evil look in my eyes. Toushiro's eyes widened. "Well then who is the dragon that put the poison in her?!" Toushiro asked. I smiled, but it wasn't a kind smile…it was a smile that an evil scientist would have before performing a very painful operation to a patient who was wide awake. "Oh…_you _should know…of all people." I answered. Toushiro's eyes widened. "I…I don't…wait…you said that you were going to…YOU POISONED HINAMORI?!" Toushiro yelled at me. I smiled at him but I was getting frustrated, and fast, so my teeth started to sharpen and it slightly cut my lip. A drop of blood reached my tongue and when I opened my mouth, my fangs got sharper and slightly longer. Sterling noticed that it got much colder in the room and he also saw that my teeth were growing. "Oh no, Toushiro just shut up!" Sterling yelled and ran to pull me into a strong hug. "Shhh…just calm down…please just calm down…" Sterling kept whispering to me, and it worked. I sighed and took a look around the room; the room had "transformed" into an ice chamber. "Ha, I hope she freezes." I mumbled under my breath, but Toushiro heard me. "How…dare…you…" he just barely managed to whisper out of anger. Then I lost my temper. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! I CAN YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SAY THAT TO ME?! LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO MY WIELDER!!! YOU TRULY DO HAVE A HEART OF ICE. DID YOU KNOW THAT SHE CRIES HERSELF TO SLEEP EVERY NIGHT ALL BECAUSE OF YOU, TOUSHIRO HITSUGAYA?!" I roared at him, and then building began to shake. Sterling did the only thing that he could think of to calm me down. He quickly pressed his lips to mine as gently as possible and then just stayed there. After a minute of this, I drew back, but my eyes had changed colors. "Boy, you are in for it now…you made her eyes change colors…" Sterling growled, and I could have sworn I saw Toushiro have the look of fear in his eyes, but that lasted only for a brief second before the look vanished only to be replaced with fierce determination."What does that have to do with anything?" Toushiro sneered. "When my eyes turn different colors, that indicates that I am getting mad, and when my eyes are the colors…like Masumoto's eyes…then that is when nothing good will happen." I explained, but Toushiro just sneered at me. "And one more thing, Hitsugaya…Momo has no chance of living anymore." I hissed through my teeth. Toushiro looked at me. "W-what do you mean?" he asked. "Wow…and I thought that he was the so called "boy genius", but I can see that I was mistaken." I said to Sterling who just held on to me in case I lost my temper again. "Explain." Toushiro demanded. I looked at him and glared. "I _am _the one who put the poison inside of Momo, and me, and me alone, know how to cure her…even Sterling doesn't know." I explained and then I decided to cast a look at Momo and she started to scream in agony. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER?!" Toushiro yelled at me, and I smirked. "Oh it's just the poison taking its course throughout her body." I said. "NO! PLEASE I'LL DO ANYTHING, JUST PLEASE CURE HER!" Toushiro begged, but I just shook my head. "No!" I said firmly. "She is in pain and it's all because of you!" I told him. I looked at him and he had a pained expression on his face. "Don't you think that you are being just a little harsh?" Sterling asked. "Maybe, but this will be his punishment for yelling at me, messing with my wielders emotions and causing her pain after she gave everything she had to him. So this is his punishment: he can watch his childhood friend die right in front of his eyes." "No…please…no…" Toushiro moaned and sank to his knees on the floor. "I am sorry for inflicting pain on you Sterling." I said, but Sterling just looked at me and shook his head. "I feel nothing for that girl, so I do not share the boy's pain…he will have to suffer it…alone…" "Now don't _you _think that _your _being a bit harsh?" I asked him. "No…" he simply said. Then I nodded and walked out of the room with Sterling at my heels.

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Me: well sry that this chapter was a bit…depressing, but I'll get back to Toushiro and Karin next chapter. Sry…depressing stories really ain't my style, but I just felt the need to put this chapter up cuz now, Toushiro has to find a way to get Karin back…or is it too late? PLZ REVIEW! If no one does, then I will discontinue the story cuz im not even sure if anyone likes it…so anyways, if you don't want this story to be discontinued, then REVIEW!!!

Karin: *sob* PLZ REVIEW…I PERSONALY WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO THAT JERK! OKAY, I THINK THAT'S ALL! UNTIL NEXT CHAPTER (if there is one…) ^.^


	10. Leaving and Forgiveness

Me: ok here is chapter 10…wow I never thought that I would EVER get this far. Oh well…um i am going to start another HitsuKarin story. it's a story when Toushiro is the prince of his country and Karin is just a slave and then they fall in love…im not quite sure yet because I haven't really sorted out all of the details (and yes I know that this is really original, but I just sounds like a good idea…and Stephany and Sterling are going to be in it as well) ^.^

Karin: yeah…so I guess I will do the disclaimer because the jerk is busy mourning his "beloved" Momo*sneers*

Me: *sweatdrop* uh sure…whatever you say, Karin

Karin: Winter does not own Bleach…just the story itself and some of the characters…now on with the story!!!

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Leaving and Forgiveness

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_In the 10__th__ squad office_

"Oh hey Karin…what's wrong?!" Masumoto asked as she ran over to the now breathing hard Karin. "…d-don't w-worry about it." Karin said. Matsumoto was quite for a few minutes before she spoke again. "It was Captain, wasn't it?" she asked, and Karin nodded. "Oh when I see him I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!" Matsumoto said. "N-no…please don't…" Karin whispered and then fainted. "KARIN!" Matsumoto yelled but she was already unconscious. "…Karin…" Matsumoto whispered and she felt tears well up at her eyes out of pity for Karin. Then Matsumoto picked Karin up into her arms, shunpoed to her home, and put Karin on her bed. Then she left to go back to the office.

***************

_An hour later_

The door slid open and revealed a worn-out Captain Hitsugaya. Matsumoto didn't even look up from her work as her captain walked in. "M-Matsumoto? What are you doing?" Toushiro asked. "What does it look like I'm doing, Captain?" Matsumoto snapped. Toushiro was taken off guard by his lieutenant's response. "W-well, it's just that I have never seen you working…that's all." Toushiro stammered. "Well you know Captain, people change!" Matsumoto continued in the same angry voice. "And you, of all people, should know…" she hissed under her breath. Then she stood up. "Where are you going?" Toushiro asked. "Home, to check up on Karin…oh you remember Karin right or are you too busy with Momo?" Matsumoto hissed out. "What are you saying Matsumoto?!" Toushiro asked, quickly losing his calm demeanor. "Did you know that you hurt Karin so badly, that she came in here, cried, and was so depressed and hurt, that she fainted?!" Matsumoto screamed at him. This was by far, the worst fight that they had gotten into, but Toushiro deserved it, _all _of it. "S-she…passed out?" Toushiro asked with disbelief. "Yes _Captain _Hitsugaya. She fainted!!!" Matsumoto said, sneering the word "captain". "Yes…some captain you are, and here I thought that you had some kind of heart, even if it was small, but I can see that I was so very wrong, so my apologies _Captain_!" she hissed and then walked off, cursing under her breath.

When Matsumoto was outside, she broke out into tears. "W-what has my captain become?" she whispered to herself, wiping off her tears. At this time, I was furious, but Sterling was right by my side making sure that I didn't lose control of my emotions. That was when I saw Rangiku crying outside the 10th squad office. "Oi…Rangiku…are you okay?" I called out to her. Upon hearing my voice, she looked up, and tried to put on a completely fake smile. "Oh I'm doing wonderful Head Captain, and yourself?" she asked me politely. "Rangiku, don't you dare lie to me." I said in a firm yet soft voice. Rangiku knew that she couldn't hide it anymore, so she motioned for me to walk with her, away from the office where Toushiro was. I nodded and started to walk with her, and then I remembered Sterling. "Hey Rangiku, I would like to introduce you to someone." I said as I turned towards Sterling, who was trailing behind. "Rangiku, this is Sterling, my boyfriend." I said, and Rangiku's eyes got wide. "Y-you have a boyfriend? Wow…for how l-" but Rangiku's question was cut off as the 10th squad door opened. I turned to look at Sterling, but he had the scarcest look on his face, and in truth, I scared me just a little bit. Sterling looked at me and noticed that I had a scared expression on my face, so he took a deep breath and then motioned with his hand for me to go over to him. I tried to move my legs, but they just didn't seem to want to obey, so as I tried to take a step forward, I stupidly tripped over my own feet. In a heartbeat, Sterling caught me by my waist, just as I was about to come in contact with the ground. "Just like old times, huh?" he whispered in my ear. "Yup, just like old times…" I answered back and looked up into Sterling's eyes, but they had turned back into a look of pure hatred. "Don't you _dare boy_!" Sterling growled at Toushiro and I knew that I had missed something very important.

Sterling put me down on my feet and then walked towards Toushiro. Then I turned to see Matsumoto just standing right in the middle of them. I sighed and then used my light speed and dragged Matsumoto out of the way. "Wha-?" Matsumoto tried to say, but the look in my eyes said it all. "Let me explain something to you…" I whispered, and I explained to her that Sterling was Hyourinmaru. "But what I told you must remain a secret, understand?" I said. She just nodded and then we turned our attention to the boys. Sterling looked beyond furious and Toushiro looked almost the same way. "S-Sterling?" I called out. "Hmm?" he responded. "Ah…it's n-nothing…" I mumbled, but my voice shook and I looked away, embarrassed. "Stephany…Stephany look at me." He commanded, and I looked at him and gasped. He had the kindest look on his face, and I felt like I wanted to hug him. "What is it?" I asked him. "I want you and Matsumoto to leave." "B-but why?" I asked him. "Just…because…please trust me…" he said in a pained way. I sighed. "Very well…but please be careful…" I said. "Okay, I'll come and find you later." He said. "Okay…Rangiku, were leaving." I said and got on my feet and started to walk away with Rangiku at my side. "Er…Head Captain, where are we going?" Rangiku asked. "To your house, where Karin is…" I said. "Okay."

***************

_At Rangiku's house_

"Karin?" I called out. "Y-yes?" came a raspy voice. I walked through the hallway and into Rangiku's room. "Hey are you feeling okay?" I asked Karin. "Y-yeah…" she said. "No…I don't think you're telling me the truth…what do you want to do?" I asked her, but she just shrugged. Then an idea hit me… "Hey, let's go back and visit your family." I said. Karin's eyes lit up and she nodded. "Okay…we will leave tomorrow." I said and that was the end of that.

***************

_Two hours later (Rangiku's house)_

"Aw, so you really are going to leave, Karin?" Rangiku asked. "Yeah, I am." She replied. Rangiku nodded. "Well I wish you best of luck and I hope to see you again soon." "Okay…hey what's wrong Stephany?" Karin asked me. I turned to look at her. "It's…nothing…" I said and then closed my eyes. "Hey if Sterling comes looking for me, tell him that I'll be in our dream world, okay Karin?" "Okay." And with that, I transformed and disappeared into our necklace. _Call if need. _I said to Karin. _Sure, no problem. _She replied.

Five minutes later, Sterling knocked on Rangiku's door. "Hey where's Stephany?" he asked Karin. "Kaze Ryuu told me to tell you that she is waiting for you in our dream world." Karin said, and Sterling nodded, before transforming into Hyourinmaru. "Oh Karin…" he said. "Yeah?" "T-Toushiro…still has feeling for you…even if he refuses to show them…and I just wanted to say sorry on his behalf, even though I know you won't accept it until the words actually come from _his _mouth." Hyourinmaru said and Karin nodded. "T-thanks for at least trying…unlike _him…_" Hyourinmaru sighed and then started to glow. Within seconds, he was disappeared and he came and met me in the dream world.

Karin walked outside and then jumped on top of Rangiku's house and she looked up at the sky as it displayed its beautiful sunset. Karin sighed and a short flashback came to her mind.

_Flashback_

"Hey Toushiro! What are you doing here?" Karin asked. "It's Captain Hitsugaya to you, and I'm just looking at the sunset." "Why?" Karin asked. "Because it…brings back memories…" Toushiro said. And then the memory ended.

_End of flashback_

At that same exact time, Toushiro was also looking at the sunset and had that memory (it was because of me 'Kaze Ryuu' and Hyourinmaru).

Karin sighed and then spoke to herself. "Well I guess that it's time for me to head in for the night…" and Karin jumped off of the roof and walked into Rangiku's house, where she was staying for the night. Little did Karin know that Toushiro was watching her every move…

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_The next morning_

"Rangiku, I am going to send for Grandfather and he will take my place until Karin and I return. However, I don't know how long we will be gone." I sad. I looked over my shoulder at Karin who looked impatient and ready to go. Then I turned to face Sterling who was also here to see us off.

"I'm going to miss you." He whispered. I held out my arms and he gave me a hug, then he drew back. "Now I'm _really _gonna miss you." He said, then he leaned in and gave me a kiss. After a few seconds, he drew back and put his head on my shoulder. "I love you." He whispered in my ear. "I love you too." I replied and then he kissed me again, but this time it had a note of urgency and want to it. As he was kissing me, I put my hands in his hair and ran my hands through his hair. When Sterling withdrew from me, his eyes were filled with longing. "Oh, I really wish I don't have to go…" I whispered as a tear escaped my eyes and dropped to the floor. But instead of sounding like water as it hit the ground, it sounded like a marble. Sterling looked at the ground and his eyes widened. Sterling leaned down and picked up something that looked like a marble. "Stephany…is this…a…?" "(1) Dragon Tear? Yes it is." I said. _Just out of kindness, give this to Hinamori and she will be fine. _I told him. "…So _this _is the cure?" he asked me. "Yes… that is the cure." I told him. "…alright…I really hope that I will see you again…and soon…" he said, and I nodded. "Yeah…me to." Then someone cleared their throat.

"If you two are done, I would like to go." Said an irritable Karin. "Yeah yeah, don't get your panties in a wad, I'm commin." I told her, and Sterling chuckled. "What?" "Oh it's just that I haven't heard that expression in a while, that's all." "Okay. Well I'll be seeing ya!" And with that being said, Karin and I stepped into the gate that took us home.

***************

_One (long) year later_

"Hey Kurosaki! Do you wanna play ball?" a boy asked Karin. "Nah I'm good but thanks. Maybe some other time. I have to go. I'll see you guys later!" Karin called over her shoulder as she began running to the railing that she visited every day just as the sunset appeared and she stayed there until it was gone. I would always come out, use my light speed and wait until Karin was with me. Then I would keep her company as we would just watch the sunset and reflect on what had happened in our life. Sometimes we would speak and other times we would just sit in a peaceful silence. However, as Karin and I both approached the railing, there was already another figure there. As we approached the person, we both realized who it was. Toushiro Hitsugaya. As we approached, I felt someone touch my shoulder. I stiffened, but then almost immediately relaxed upon hearing a voice in my ear. "Surly you're not going to hurt me now are you?" the voice said. I turned around and leaped into the person's arms and buried my head in his neck. "Sterling! Oh my gosh, I missed you so much!" I squealed. Sterling just chuckled. Then we both turned our attention to our wielders and I felt fear strike through me. Leaving Sterling's embrace (much to his disliking), I ran over to Karin's side in case she needed me. We all stood in an awkward silence until Karin spoke. "Well are you going to just stand there like the idiot you are, or are you going to say something?!" she yelled at him. Toushiro sighed. "I…I am here to…apologize." Toushiro said. "Oh please give me a freaking break! You said that last time you moron!" Karin said, and I couldn't help but laugh which earned me a look from Karin that made me run and cower behind Sterling's back. "Well…believe it or not," Toushiro began. "I choose 'not' thank you very much," Karin mumbled under her breath, but Toushiro heard it. "Like I was saying, believe it or not, but I truly _am _here to apologize to you for how I treated you." "Well I don't want to hear it, not a single word!" Karin said. "B-but…then what _do _you want?" Toushiro asked. Karin seemed to ponder this awhile. _Hey what do you think Kaze Ryuu? Do you think that he's telling the truth? _Karin asked me through our thoughts. _Well mistress (yes I am still formal to her because he technically IS my mistress) I think that you should test him…ask him about that girl…er…Momo and then see how her responds. If he pauses and looks like he's off in space, then we will just walk away. _I said. _Okay I will, but you on the other hand, don't have to be punished. Only I will walk away. You can stay with Sterling because I know that he means well and that he is precious to you, yet you chose to come with me over him. That really did touch me, so for that, I give you my thanks. _Karin said and flashed me a smile. "I want to know about that Momo girl because she seemed really important to you, so what happened to her?" Karin asked. Toushiro didn't even hesitate to answer. "She was somehow miraculously healed (and snuck a look at me) and she's fine now, but don't get off of the subject what-" but the end of the sentence was cut off as Karin launched herself at Toushiro. "Y-you…that is what I want." She whispered and Toushiro held her even tighter in his arms.

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Me: awww I think that this is a cute ending…

Karin: *anime anger mark* who you callin "cute"

Me: er…no one Karin…*sweatdrop* I was just saying that the _ending_ was cute

Karin: yeah whatever

Me: but you know, this story is not even close to being over? I still have Aizen to deal with… *evil laugh* well I hope that you liked it! I AM BEGGING YALL, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!

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(1)- Dragon Tear (this is going to be extremely crucial in the story): when an elemental dragon (look back at chapter 6 if you don't remember) such as myself cries, then their tears become something like a marble, but it is worth many of millions of dollars (because they are so rare). They also have another "power", if you will. If they are eaten, then the power that is stored in the gem will flood throughout your body and it can heal you, or cause you to have gigantic amount of energy. This is what happened with Momo: Sterling snuck into her room and gave it to her. She swallowed it and that caused her to recover. However, if a person is bitten and is injected with Dragon Venom, then the cure is different for each dragon. And the last thing is this, only one of the four MAJOR elemental dragons (Wind, Fire, Water, and Earth) can create/make a Dragon Tear…Sterling/Hyourinmaru (Ice) can NOT make a dragon tear even though he is an elemental (if u don't get it, tell me in a review and I will explain it to you better). Ok that's it…I really hope you enjoyed the story!


	11. Captured at the Wrong Time

Me: Karin and Toushiro are talking at this time, so I will just do the disclaimers myself. *clears throat* I do not own Bleach…just the story line and Stephany and Sterling.

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Captured at the Wrong Time

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"What are you saying, boy?" Hyourinmaru roared at Toushiro. "…I don't know anymore…I just don't know…" Toushiro moaned. "You truly are pathetic." "Oh geez thanks Hyourinmaru! You know, just because _your_ life is so perfect, then you automatically think that _my_ life is perfect!" Toushiro screamed. "T-that is not true I–" "ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU JUST SHUT UP!" I roared. "Now," I said in a much calmer voice, "what seems to be the problem?" I asked. "I…um…" Toushiro started. "I…er…please forgive me Head Captain; I didn't mean to be so loud." Toushiro said and bowed. "Yeah yeah, but you still haven't told me what you guys are arguing about." I said. "Um…Hyourinmaru…please…" Toushiro begged (yes begged). Hyourinmaru sighed and then put his tall on my shoulder. "P-please don't worry about it…" He said. I just looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate. When he didn't I just sighed and looked away. "Fine…" I mumbled and walked out the door that was now open. "Thank you Hyourinmaru." I heard Toushiro whisper and I heard Hyourinmaru grunt as a response. Then there was a flash of light and a hand came and grabbed mine as I walked out into the cold morning.

"You know, mornings are most of the time very peaceful." Sterling said, trying to make a conversation and failing miserably. "Okay Sterling, what's on your mind?" I asked him. "W-what do you mean?" he asked me. "Oh come on! I can read your emotions like I book. I can see that you are a bit…worried about something and I want to know what it is." I said in a firm way. "I…I'm not worried…just a bit…tired that's all." He said and looked away. I can easily see when Sterling is nervous. Everybody has a different nervous habit. It could be pacing around or fumbling with keys or something in your pocket, but Sterling's "sign" is when he tells me something, but he won't meet my eyes and when he doesn't, then I know that he is ether lying to me, or he doesn't want me to know something.

"What are you hiding from me?" I asked him very bluntly. I heard him sigh and then stop walking. I turned around to see what was wrong and Sterling just looked at me in the eyes. "P-please trust me. I will tell you eventually…" he said and then trailed off into silence. I reached up and put my hand on his cheek. "Are you afraid that if you tell me something, that I will leave you?" I asked him. "T-that is only one of my fears…" he replied. Then I put my other hand on the other side of his cheek and turned his head, causing him to look at me. "I promise that I will listen to whatever you have to say, and I will never leave your side again." I whispered to him. "I shall tell you when the time is right." Sterling stated firmly, and indicating with his voice that that was the end of _that _conversation. "Very well…my ice prince…I will let it go…for now." I said. "Thank you." He whispered back and smiled.

***************

"Boy, just do it." Hyourinmaru growled. "B-but…I can't…why?" Toushiro stammered. "What? Are you scared or something?" Hyourinmaru asked. "Y-yeah…" Toushiro said. Hyourinmaru sighed and then transformed. "Okay a deal's a deal. If you do it, then I'll do it." Sterling said. Toushiro sighed. "Well…okay. Where is Karin?" Toushiro asked. Hyourinmaru flicked his tall towards the rail where Karin and I were sitting on. "O-okay…here I go." Toushiro said, took a deep breath and walked over to where Karin was sitting.

As Toushiro approached us, we both looked up at the same time. "Whoa, that was kinda creepy. But…er…Karin, do you mind coming with me for a few minutes? I really need to ask you something very important." Toushiro asked bravely. I smirked at Karin and she blushed. "S-sure Toushiro." Karin said and then left with Toushiro. I was alone for about five minutes before I was about to get up, but someone pushed me down on the railing, causing me to lose my balance. Sterling was behind me, so as I was falling over, I fell on top of him. "Ophf!" he breathed out. I immediately tried to get up and give him some room to breathe, but his arms wound around my arms, pulling me down. As I was lying on his chest, he started to sit up, so naturally I moved out of his way, but then after I was just sitting in his lap, he turned me around so he could face me. When I looked at him, I could see a worried expression on his face, so I put both of my hands on his face and spoke to him. "Hey, what's wrong? You look really troubled." I whispered. Sterling looked at me and then sighed. "Well, it's all or nothing…" I heard him mumble under his breath and then he sighed and looked straight into my eyes. Then he released me, made a motion for me to stand up, and he got on one knee. "Stephany, you know that I have always loved you. Well i am here to ask you something that might change your life forever. Stephany… will you marry me?" Sterling asked. I felt my eyes water at that question.

***************

As they were walking in the park, Toushiro saw a bench that was right in the middle of the beautiful flower garden. Toushiro took a deep breath and led Karin over to the bench and pointed to it, indicating for her to sit down. When Karin sat down, Toushiro bent down on his right knee and spoke. "Karin, I know that I have not always been here for you and for that I am sorry, but I am doing everything I can to make it up to you. I, right now, want to prove to you just how much I love you and how much you mean to me. Karin Kurosaki…will you marry me?" Toushiro asked and Karin gasped. "T-toushiro…" Karin mumbled. "I…i…" Karin was at a loss for words. Karin took a deep breath and then tried again. "Toushiro I-"but her words were cut off as sudden spirit pressure came crashing down on her. "C-can't…b-breathe…" Karin hissed out, and then collapsed because her body ran out of oxygen. "Well, isn't that a shame that you never got your answer, Captain?" A cold voice said. "Aizen!" Toushiro screamed. "What do you want?" Toushiro asked in a cold manor while standing over Karin's unconscious body. "Her…" Aizen said, pointing to Karin. "I know that she has the Wind Dragon as her spirit and I know that the dragon will do anything to insure her safety, so I am taking the girl, so step aside boy!" Aizen hissed. His voice full of malice. "NO, NEVER!" Toushiro roared and then drew his sword, but he was too slow. Aizen disappeared and then reappeared right behind Toushiro, hitting him on the back of the head, making him go unconscious. "N-no…Karin…" Toushiro said, his small voice full of concern, but he was seeping into a deep sleep. "K-karin…" was Toushiro's last word before he fell into a troubled sleep.

***************

"Sterling…I need to speak to Karin about this, but _my _answer is yes! Of course I will marry you!" I squealed, and then I stopped because a huge amount of spirit energy suddenly appeared right by Karin and Toushiro. I turned to Sterling and it looked like he was deep in thinking. "Sterling, we need to go, come on!" I yelled at him, and he nodded as he snapped out of it.

As we arrived, we found Toushiro lying on the ground, twitching in his sleep. "K-karin…no…please…not Karin…no…" Toushiro moaned out and his arms started to flail around as if he were fighting off an attacker. Sterling looked stunned so I had to become Toushiro's savior and wake him up…but nothing seemed to do the trick. After five minutes of shaking him, pouring ice cold water on him, and screaming at him, I decided that I would have to wake him up by "force". So I told Sterling to stand back and then I put my hand facing Toushiro. "Lightning, Fire Strike!" I yelled, and it hit Toushiro on his back. He sat up immediately and looked around. "K-karin?" he yelled, and then noticed me and Sterling. "Karin…where is she?" a concerned Toushiro asked. "S-she was kidnapped and I guess that she's with Aizen now…but why…?" I asked. Toushiro just looked down and wouldn't meet my gaze. "I am so sorry for not being able to take care of her. This is entirely my fault…if I had been more careful, then she would still be here right now…" Toushiro said. I put my hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. We will get her back, I promise." And I walked away, knowing full well where Karin was. "Karin…please don't do anything stupid…" I said out loud to myself. "Aizen…you will pay for this, I swear it…" then I sighed. This was going to be a long week…

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Me: okay a little late but it's still my first cliffy…sry guys that I've been so slow lately. But like I said…Im in summer school but if u pm me…I will still answer it cuz I got my phone so I can answer the PM's. Thx to all those who reviewed…and the other story that im currently working on is called "A Chance Meeting" and once I get finished with chapter 1, ill post it ASAP! Well until next chapter! ^.^


	12. You'll Be In My Heart

Me: ok well here is Chapter 12. Sry but Toushiro is busy sulking and Karin is with Aizen at this time, so I will just to the disclaimers. I do not own Bleach, although I REALLY wish that I did. I only own Stephany and Sterling and some of their powers.

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You'll Be In My Heart

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_~Karin~_

As Karin opened her eyes, she was greeted by a bright light. Karin shut her eyes and then tried to remember what had happened. As her memory came pouring back, Karin's eyes snapped open. "Toushiro!" Karin called out. Then a voice called out from the shadows. "He is not her to save you, young lady." Karin immediately turned her head around to try and get a glance as the speaker. A man walked out of the shadows. It was Aizen. "What the freaking heck do you want with me?" Karin hissed. Aizen chuckled and continued to advance towards Karin. "I don't care about you. It's the power of you dragon spirit that I want." Aizen said with a slight smirk playing at his lips. "What are you smirking at?" Karin asked. "Oh I was just thinking about how to get you to summon your dragon here. Oh! I know how about I get you mad…" As Aizen said this, he was leaning in towards Karin. "What the freaking h-"but Karin's protest was cut off by Aizen's lips. Aizen had used binding kidou, so Karin couldn't move anything except her mouth. When Aizen broke apart from Karin, she looked angrier that she had been in a long time.

"How dare you! You sick, perverted old man!" Karin screamed at Aizen, but Aizen started to kiss Karin once more. Karin was getting furious at herself for being so weak, and at Aizen. Karin felt her eyes sting with tears that wanted to be released, but Karin held them back, but just barely.

"Oh, you will _so _pay for this when Toushiro gets here." Karin hissed out. Aizen just chuckled. "Well, I hope that Toushiro is one of the ones to come and save you. I would enjoy a good battle." Aizen said with a glint in his eyes. "Let's see how long your little friend can survive when he comes and gets you…" Aizen said as he walked out of the room and shut the door, leaving Karin crumpled on the floor, on the brink of tears. "T-toushiro…" Karin whispered and then remembered something. Karin closed her eyes and focused all of her energy towards the rose that Karin had in her pocket. The rose that she never "left home without". Karin knew where she was and hoped that her plan would work…

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~Toushiro~

Toushiro was pacing around the room and it was getting on my nerves. "Toushiro, you need to calm down…TOUSHIRO!" I yelled at him to get his attention. "WHAT?" he yelled back. "WATCH IT, KID!" I hissed at him. "WHY SHOULD I?" Toushiro challenged. "WELL IN CASE YOU HAVE STUPIDLY FORGOTTEN, I AM HER SPIRIT GUARDIAN! I CARE A WHOLE HECK OF A LOT ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO HER." I yelled. "Oh yeah?! Well I-" "ENOUGH!!!" Sterling roared causing Toushiro and me to shrink back from one another. "Fighting isn't going to help anything…" Sterling said and looked away. I felt ashamed of myself and wanted to be alone, so I stood up and left the room. As I was almost out of the room, I heard Sterling get up as well and Toushiro whispered to Sterling. "I'm…sorry about that…I should have behaved myself better…" Toushiro whispered. I heard Sterling sigh and I walked out of the house.

I had no idea where I was going, but I just felt that I need some time to think. "Hey, I'm sorry that I yelled at you." Sterling whispered in my ear. I stopped walking and turned around. "No no, its fine." I said and looked down. "A-are you sure?" Sterling asked me. "Yeah…I'm sure. I'm not mad at you, I'm just thinking if I should go and get her or not…" "Oh I under- wait…WHAT? You can get her?" I sighed. "Yes I can get her, but I'm concerned about the risk that that could place us both in. She is in Hecto Mundo and there is very powerful reiatsu emitting from that place and if I were to go I-" "It's okay, I trust you…" Sterling whispered.

I smiled at him and then Sterling gasped. "T-toushiro…" he whispered and then took one look at me. I knew something was up so we sprinted to where Toushiro was.

"Toushiro? Do you feel it?" Sterling asked as we approached the Kurosaki household (and Toushiro was standing on the front steps). "Y-yeah…K-karin, can you hear me?" Toushiro asked out loud and then I looked down because my necklace began to shine. I closed my eyes, transformed and listened to the conversation.

_K-karin are you alright? _Toushiro asked? _Y-yeah I'm okay…I- _Karin started to say but Toushiro interrupted.

_Karin, I am so sorry. This is entirely my fault. If I had been a little more aware of what was going on around me, then I would have felt Aizen's presence and I could have prevented this all from happening. _Toushiro said and I heard Karin sigh.

_No, you are wrong. Nothing could have prevented this from happening. _Karin said.

_B-but… _Toushiro stammered.

_But nothing, Shiro! You need to stop blaming yourself for everything that happens to me. It was NOT your fault. It just happened and there's nothing that we could have done to stop it…_ Karin said and I smiled.

_I'm coming." _Toushiro said.

_What do you mean? _Karin asked.

_It means that I am coming to get you right now and ending that wretched traitor's life once and for all. _ Toushiro said.

_Hmmm. _Karin said and all of a sudden, I felt sorrow flood throughout my body. That was when I decided to make my presence known.

_Karin, are you okay, my mistress? _I asked and I felt Karin jump slightly.

_Kaze Ryuu? _Karin asked.

_Yes ma'am, I am here and we are coming to get you as soon as possible. Are you able to tell me why that old wretch kidnapped you?" _I asked her and then I felt another feeling wash through me. Terror.

_W-what's wrong? Karin? _I asked fighting back the panic in my voice.

_P-please don't come Kaze Ryuu because that's what he wants. He wants you and all of your power. _Karin said.

_Well I am coming anyways, we shall be there in a few minutes. Good bye mistress… _ I said and I could hear Karin protesting, but I ignored it and transformed back into a human.

"Sterling, Toushiro, we are going." I said and walked off towards Urahara's place as the boys followed.

***************

_An hour later (Toushiro)_

"We have finally made it to Hecto Mundo, now let's go and get Karin back." I said and transformed, becoming Kaze Ryuu. "Hey Sterling, transform into your dragon form and stay like that. I don't want Aizen knowing that you are my weakness, okay?" I whispered to him and he smiled. "Anything for you." Sterling whispered, then transformed and went into Toushiro's blade.

"Toushiro, before we go, I need to explain something to you." I said. "Yes, what is it?" he asked.

"Just like Sterling transformed into Hyourinmaru and returned to your blade, I am able to do the same thing for Karin, and I am going to do that now. What I need for you to do is to find Karin and save us. Hurry now." I said and then disappeared.

***************

_~Karin~_

_Kaze Ryuu, is that you? _Karin asked. _Yes mistress, I have returned to you once again. _Karin nodded and then took a deep breath. The Karin stiffened because the jail cell door opened to reveal none other than Aizen. Then we heard him laugh and laugh that just shouted out to the world "I am pure evil so don't come near me!".

"What do you want, Aizen?" Karin asked as coldly as she could, but Aizen just chuckled. "He's here…" he whispered and I could feel Karin start to tremble.

"P-please, don't kill Toushiro…please…what ever you do…please don't…" Karin begged.

_Karin, what are you doing? You know that I won't let Aizen kill Toushiro. _I said. _Y-yes I know that, but I j- _but Karin's sentence was cut off as Aizen released a large amount of his reiatsu, making Karin go weak in the knees. "Oh no…not again…I can't…breathe…no…Toushiro…no…" Karin said as she fell unconscious.

***************

~Toushiro~

"Are you ready, Hyourinmaru?" Toushiro asked out loud. _You bet! _Hyourinmaru roared with excitement, and Toushiro raced towards the place where Aizen was (they knew because Aizen released some of his reiatsu).

As the approached the entrance, Aizen was already there to greet them, and he had the unconscious body of Karin in his arms.

"Aizen! What have you done to her?" Toushiro snarled out of anger. "Oh, your girlfriend is just too weak to withstand my reiatsu and she fainted." Aizen said with a smirk and through Karin's body on the ground. Her body landed with a loud _thump _and then was silent. And then the battle began. "Prepare yourself Aizen!" Toushiro roared and launched himself at Aizen. Aizen smiled and met Toushiro's blade with his own in a loud _clang_.

***************

_Two hours later _

Toushiro had fought bravely, but he just wasn't strong enough to finish off Aizen. Aizen smirked as he could see Toushiro getting weaker by the second, and after five more minutes of intense fighting, Toushiro lost his balance and Aizen saw his chance. Aizen launched himself at Toushiro, aiming his blade at his neck. That was when I snapped. I pulled myself from Karin's body and called out to Aizen.

"Aizen, stop!" I yelled and he seemed to hear me. "Well, if it isn't the Wind Dragon, Kaze Ryuu." I growled but remained quite. "You probably know what I want, so give me what I want and I will give you what you want…this boy's life." Aizen smirked and I growled even louder, indicating that he was crossing the lines with my patience.

"And what is it that you want exactly?" I asked. "Your power." Aizen stated simply. I sighed and then closed my eyes as I concentrated. When I reopened my eyes, there was a silver Dragon Tear floating in front of me. "Do you know what a Dragon Tear is?" I hissed at him, and he just shook his head. That was when I decided to lie to him slightly.

"A (1)Dragon Tear is created once every thousands of years from an Elemental, such as myself. Do you understand that?" I asked him. He nodded and I continued. "Well the Tear has a huge amount of my power combined in it. The Tear is used when I die, it helps bring out the next Wind Dragon." I said. "So the Tear acts like a seed or what not?" Aizen asked, trying to understand. "Exactly, and I am offering you this in exchange for Toushiro's life." I said and looked away. I was breaking _all _of the rules, giving him a Dragon Tear. Aizen seemed to ponder this offer.

After a few minutes of silence, he spoke. "Very well, I accept." I nodded. "Okay, but you must first hand over Captain Hitsuaya." I said. Aizen seemed to ponder something for a while, but then it looked like he dropped whatever he was thing about for the time being. "Very well, here he is." Aizen said as he took a step back away from Toushiro. I flicked my tail and Toushiro rose (my Gravity move) and started hovering towards me and at the same time, the Dragon Tear made its way over to Aizen. After the exchange was over Aizen spoke. "Well, I thought that I should just let you know that you have now doomed Soul Society…" and with that, Aizen left, but he missed seeing me smirk.

***************

_An hour later _

_(in front of Karin's house)_

Karin had awoken about ten minutes after Aizen had disappeared and helped me carry Toushiro back through the portal that took us back to earth. (I couldn't transform because when Aizen became a traitor and left, he had his memories---me becoming Head Captain, that I was Karin's spirit as well as Stephany, etc---erased along with Gin and Tosen, and I didn't want him to somehow regain his memories). *remember that only the Captains and Lieutenants know that I am Kaze Ryuu _and _Stephany…if you don't remember, then its back on chapter 6.*

"So, Karin, are you feeling alright? What did that man do to you?" I asked her, but when she opened her mouth to answer, Toushiro stirred awake. "Toushiro…" Karin breathed a sigh of relief because when we arrived back on earth, Toushiro was horribly injured and I had to heal him immediately or he would have died.

As Toushiro sat up, Karin pulled his head into her lap and I got up to give them some privacy. I settled for sitting in a tree that was close enough that I could hear what they were saying *smirk*

As I was sitting in the tree, once again, I felt sadness rush through me. _Hmmm. I wonder why Karin is so sad. Oh well, I guess that I will find out soon enough._ Right as I stopped thinking, Karin started to speak to Toushiro.

"I'm so thankful that you are alright." Karin said. Toushiro smiled slightly and sat up.

"Karin, I want you to tell me what exactly Aizen did to you." Toushiro said quite sternly, but in a soft manor. That was when Karin couldn't hold back the tears and she threw herself at Toushiro, burying her head in his shoulder and crying hard. At first, Toushiro was stunned at this action, but quick regained his composure and patted Karin on the back in a comforting manor…and to be quite honest, Toushiro was lost for words because he had never seen Karin cry before.

After a few minutes, Toushiro put his hand on her shoulders and pulled her away from him. Karin was embarrassed that she had started crying, so she just looked down at her lap, but Toushiro wasn't having any of that. He quickly put his finger on her chin and pulled her head up so her grey eyes met his teal ones.

"Karin, please tell me, what did he do to you?" Toushiro asked. Karin sighed and then looked down. "H-he…forcefully kissed me…" Karin said. Toushiro became furious and he accidently let some of his reiatsu slip out of his control and it began to snow. "T-toushiro…?" Karin called out, but was silenced by Toushiro's lips as they were pressed tightly against hers. Toushiro quickly pulled away and then readjusted by putting Karin's head in _his _lap.

Karin laid there, not knowing what to do before she thought she heard something…singing.

**Come stop your crying  
it will be all right,  
Just take my hand, hold it tight.**

I will protect you  
from all around you.  
I will be here,  
don't you cry.  


Then Karin knew what she was hearing, _Kaze Ryuu_ was singing to her, but she stopped at that verse and Karin heard the next verse being sung by another voice.

**  
Born so small,  
you seem so strong.  
My arms will hold you,  
keep you safe and warm.  
This bond between us,  
can't be broken.  
I will be here,  
don't you cry.  
**

It was Toushiro…then both voices joined together.

**  
'Cause you'll be in my heart.  
Yes, you'll be in my heart.  
From this day on,  
now and forever more.  
You'll be in my heart,**

**  
no matter what they say.  
You'll be here in my heart, always.**

Then it was just Toushiro singing.

**Why can't they understand  
the way we feel?  
They just don't trust  
what they can't explain.  
I know we're different but,  
deep inside us…  
We're not that different at all.  
**

Then they both started to sing once again.

**  
And you'll be in my heart.  
Yes, you'll be in my heart.  
From this day on,  
now and forever more.**

**  
**Then it struck Karin as somewhat ironic as the lyrics matched somewhat with her life and Toushiro's because Stephany's grandfather (Yamamoto) had been against their relationship, but when Stephany got control of Soul Society, she supported their relationship. *Toushiro was the only one singing this part.*

**  
Don't listen to them,  
'cause what do they know?  
We need each other,  
to have, to hold.  
They'll see in time,  
I know…  
**

Then Kaze Ryuu started to sing.

**  
When destiny calls you,  
you must be strong.  
I may not be with you,  
but you've got to hold on.  
They'll see in time,  
I know.  
We'll show them together…'cause  
**

Then Toushiro and Kaze Ryuu were singing together…and it was just for her. Karin felt touched and smiled, tears of happiness started to flow down her cheeks as she listened to them sing to her.

**  
You'll be in my heart.  
Believe me, you'll be in my heart.  
I'll be there from this day on,  
Now and forever more…**

Oh, you'll be in my heart,  
no matter what they say.  
You'll be in my heart, always, always…  
I'll be with you,

**I'll be there for you always.**

**Always and always…**

As we both finished the song, we smiled slightly at each other and then turned our attention to Karin. She looked back at us with tear filled eyes.

"T-thank you…_both _of you." Karin said, indicating the "both" meaning to include me, as well as Toushiro.

"You are welcome, Karin." Toushiro and I said simultaneously. I smiled at Toushiro and spoke just to him.

"Take good care of her. You have proven yourself to me many times and for that, I am pleased. I, as her spirit, will say that I fully accept your relationship." I said and then bowed. Toushiro patted me on the head. (I had transformed before we sang the song. Therefore, I was in my dragon form, while singing and speaking with Toushiro.)

"Thank you Kaze Ryuu. I will do everything in my power to protect her." Toushiro said to me, seriously. I nodded and smiled at him. "Very well…" I said, transformed back into my human form, and walked off.

Then I felt a tail wrap around my waist, and I stopped walking. "You have a beautiful voice." Hyourinmaru whispered in my ear and then transformed. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Thank you." I whispered back and kissed his cheek.

***************

Me: Wow I completely LOVE how this chapter came out! I have always wanted to put this song in this story because the "descriptions" that are in the songs, match perfectly with Kaze Ryuu and Toushiro. Well, I hope that you liked this chapter as much as I do! PLZ REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! And the song I used was "You'll Be In My Heart" by Phil Collins. It really is a great song! (Yes it was sung in the movie Tarzan…that is where I first heard it.)

Toushiro: so what about…_him_?

Me: Aizen will make an appearance later.

Toushiro: …

Me: well I really do hope that you liked this chapter and sry that this story is so late, but I can explain it with two words. Summer School. Sry guys, im doing the best I can, I swear, so I hope that this chapter was long enough for everyone! Well, until next chapter! ^.^ (and really, please REVIEW) it really helps and motivates me to want to write more…thanks!!!)


	13. Lost Memories

Me: hey guys, this is chapter 13 and it is a bit depressing. So im sry bout that. Anyways, I am dedicating this chapter to Whil-o-Whisp because im using one of the short stories, it's actually called "Icy Hearts" and it's the first chapter. So thank you Whil-o-whisp and I hope that everyone likes this chapter. (and im so sry bout the extremely late update…summer school…)

Karin: Thank you W-o-W and Winter does not own Bleach…just Stephany/Kaze Ryuu, Sterling, and their attacks.

Toushiro: yeah…enjoy!

***************

Lost Memories

***************

_One Year Later_

_During the Winter War_

_Boom! _"Karin!" Toushiro yelled as Karin was sent flying into a wall, causing it to collapse on top of her. _Captain Hitsugaya! Do not worry about Karin, worry about your own fight! _I commanded him and then turned my attention onto Karin.

"You must try and be more careful." I reprimanded her. "Yeah, that's easy for _you_ to say, Stephany. Cuz you got all the power and I'm left with…well…the "leftovers" and-"But Karin's words were lost within the loud noise that my tail made as it came crashing into the enemy's zanpaktou that was heading towards Karin's head. "Karin!" I hissed at her, "I will tell you what I told Toushiro, worry about _your_ fight!" I said and pushed my tail in an upward motion, causing the arrancar that I was fighting, to lose his sword. I used that opportunity and brought my tail swiftly down and killed the arrancar upon impact.

"Yeah, way to go Steph-"But Karin never finished her sentence as she was hit in the head with a bright light. "KARIN!" I screamed. Karin sat up and called something out so softly, that if it weren't for my transformation and release, I never would have heard it. "Rise and c-conquer the skies, K-Kaze Ryuu." Karin whispered and then passed out. "NO!" I roared and then transformed. I was blinded with rage, so I summoned up a huge gust of wind and roared "Wind Hurricane!" and the hurricane went through the entire battlefield, destroying all of the arrancars and wounding those who didn't move out of the way in time. Then I heard a voice that I never wanted to hear again.

"Ha! That was an amazing attack!" …the voice belonged to none other than…Aizen. "Traitor! What do you want?!" I hissed out. Aizen just laughed. "Do you know what that light was that hit Karin?" I shook my head. "I have finally mastered something that has taken me many years to complete. When the girl wakes up, she will remember nothing about you, the war, or anyone…" Aizen chuckled and then disappeared before I could attack him. "AIZEN!" I roared at the top of my lungs and exhaled a huge amount of fire. Anything that touched the fire was immediately destroyed. I transformed back into my human form and sank down to my knees. This was the state that Toushiro and Sterling found me in. "Oi, Stephany! Hey, HEY!" Toushiro yelled in my face, but my mind was somewhere else. "What do you think we should do, Sterling?" Toushiro asked his partner. Sterling sighed and leaned down to kiss me, but when he was almost there, I awoke from my trance and stood up. "Hey, what is wrong?" Toushiro asked me, looking me straight in the eyes. "K-karin…won't remember you…when she wakes up…she won't remember…anything." I whispered and then closed my eyes. "What?!" Toushiro screamed out. "Aizen…" I whispered and Toushiro knew immediately what I meant. It was Aizen's fault…

***************

_One Week Later_

_X.x.X_

(Summary: Most of the Captain's came to the human world because they were finishing up fighting in the Winter War, but it's still not over because Aizen, Gin, and Tosen have yet to be caught and captured. However, Aizen showed up and spoke to Momo -not trying to kill her or anything… he just spoke to her- but I will not say what about quite yet, you will find out later. I (Stephany) have stepped down from my position as Head Captain for now and Grandfather (Yamamoto) now has it, but when Karin regains her memories again –if she ever does- then I will reclaim my rightful place as Head Captain. It is time for everyone to head back to Soul Society and restore peace - but that can't happen until they capture Aizen or something like that happens- and order. But a special someone *cough-Captain Hitsugaya-cough* doesn't want to go quite yet…poor Toushiro…)

X.x.X 

"Captain Hitsugaya!" someone's surprised cry brought Toushiro back to his senses. He couldn't leave yet. He had to say goodbye to somebody. He had to say goodbye to _her_. He just…had to. "You heard him, time to go back guys." Kenpachi spoke and Toushiro's mind reeled. Several of the shinigami seemed ready to resist, but those thoughts were quenched at Byakuya's next words. "Don't resist because we've been ordered to take you back by force if necessary." The look on Byakuya's face told them he wasn't lying.

The shinigami seemed to resign their comments and settled on giving the two powerful captains wary glances.

"Head Captain, I have a request." Everyone stared at the usually compliant Captain. Toushiro Hitsugaya never questioned orders like these, unless he knew something; he must have something in mind.

"Captain Hitsugaya… what is it?" Head Captain Yamamoto questioned tiredly. He seemed very wary of anything Toushiro asked. "I have some business that I would like to take care of before I take leave of this world." He said, kneeling down. Everybody took an intake of breath looking at the Head Captain. "You would like to say goodbye to someone…to _her_?" The First captain clarified and Hitsugaya bit his lip before nodding. "Yes, Head Captain."

Head Captain sighed. Toushiro was not the one to ask for special treatment, but Yamamoto saw the determination shining in his eyes and sighed. "Captain Hitsugaya..." He started and Toshiro was afraid the Head Captain would refuse his request. "…you have ten minutes." He finally said and in a flash, Toushiro was gone, speeding down the street towards the Kurosaki household. The window was open, so he stepped into _her_ room. The house was empty except for the father, Isshin, who was seated on the couch, watching TV. Isshin casted a glance up at him with a knowing smile. Toushiro was too engrossed in his search to notice the smile.

He had to say goodbye to her. If he didn't, she'd think he left her on purpose, or worse, was killed. He couldn't let her worry like that, he just couldn't. She'd done too much for him. She loved him too much for him to just leave and for her to expect the best. He loved her too much to let her worry. He bit his lip again as he continued his fruitless search. Where could she be? His mind raced in circles, all returning to the same conclusion. _'I have to say goodbye… before it's too late… _Toushiro thought and he thought that he heard another voice say something. _Hurry and find her, Grandfather is not really known for his patience. _And then the voice faded.

The next place he checked was the soccer field, empty at this time of day. One look around told him that she wasn't there. Memories flooded his mind. When he first met her because of a soccer game…

*****

_Flashback_

_"Now kick it in!" She shouted, running despite her injured knee. He shot her a cold and almost uncaring look before passing her the ball. "What…" she started but he interrupted."It's your team. You do it." Before dropping back and she took the shot. She took the shot and won. The whistle blew, the other team groaned with disappointment and the elementary students cheered. She smiled at her teammates. They'd always been the underdogs; now look at them!_

_She spun and walked towards Toushiro, who hung back, letting the real team soak in the glory. "Toushiro, we won and it's all thanks to you." She smiled a smile that would later, melt a heart covered in ice. Toushiro didn't look at her, his eyes closed, hands jammed into his pockets. "You scored the winning goal didn't you?" He liked to shove the win at her. He was fine to be nobody in this world, because he was somebody in his world._

_End of Flashback_

*****

Right after they were attacked by a hollow and Toushiro saved them both, Karin chose to hang out with him. Toushiro pretended not to like it; he still did today. It was on that same soccer field three weeks later he had gotten his first kiss since Karin lost her memories. They'd been playing a one on one game and when she tripped, he caught her, and she kissed him. He'd of course freaked. Why wouldn't he?

The last place he looked was the school, though in his mind, he knew that it should have been the first place he should have looked. Of course she'd be in school. His brain was much too muddled to think properly at this moment, and he knew he only had a little over four minutes left. He raced through the halls, sensing, hoping to find her spirit energy. He could pick it out of a crowd of thousands, and get it right every time. Then how come he couldn't find her now? _Damn! Where is she?_ He thought harshly as his internal clock clicked down to three minutes. Toushiro remembered the time when Captain Unohana and Stephany had told him the horrible news about Karin and her condition.

*****

_Flashback_

"_Please Captain __Unohana, there must be some way…anything that we can do to help her." Toushiro pleaded. His voice was thick with sorrow and hurt. "I am terribly sorry, but there is no way to get her memory back. I think that she will have to do that on her own. Just like when a soul enters Soul Society for the first time and doesn't remember anything but his or her name, it is like the same thing. Time is the only thing that will heal her." She said in a sad voice and I sighed, making both of the captains' jump. "I guess then I will have to return back to the human world until her memory comes back." I said and turned to Sterling. "And that means that I will have to hand back my position to my grandfather…" I said and trailed off. "So what's wrong with that?" Toushiro asked me. "Y-you don't remember that grandfather was completely against the idea of you falling in love with a human?" "So?" Toushiro asked with confusion. "So…that means that you probably won't be able to see her in a very long time. Another wards…you can't visit us in the human world to see Karin unless it was some sort of mission or along the lines of that. You could probably see her very few times per year. For example: Christmas, your birthday, her birthday, maybe Thanksgiving, and one day on your break day. You might be able to squeeze out a few other days, but that's about all. I am sorry and she and I will miss __both__ of you guys (meaning him-Toushiro- and Sterling)." I said and a tear escaped my eyes and landed on the ground. I picked it up and handed it to Toushiro. "Here, you keep it. If something ever happens to you or anyone, then eat it and they will be healed."_

_End of Flashback_

_*****_

Two minutes left, he found her. He slammed the door open, despite the fact that it would look unusual, since only she see him. She instantly looked at him with wide eyes. "Toushiro…" she muttered before standing."Excuse me! I have to go to the bathroom." Karin shouted at her teacher before she was racing out the door, catching his wrist and pulled him with her. She dragged him into the courtyard and then spoke. "Toushiro, what are you doing here?" she asked, smiling her warm smile. "I'm sorry…" he apologized and she gave him a worried look, searching his teal eyes for the answers to the unspoken question."What's wrong?" "I'm so sorry." He told her, gripping her sleeves. "What's wrong?" she asked again, her voice becoming more and more anxious. "This is my last day here; I'm leaving in, literally, a minute." He told her, looking at her sadly. She instantly burst out, "What do you mean? Where are you going? Why do you have to leave?" She asked, her voice now going from anxiety to a painful whine. Toushiro's heart tightened painfully at her voice. He put his lips to hers, kissing her softly. This would be their last kiss because he had no idea when he'd be able to get back, or if he even _could_ come back.

"I'm sorry." He apologized again, pulling her into a hug he never thought he'd have to give before; a hug saying goodbye. "Goodbye." He murmured in her ear as she buried her face into his shoulder. "Captain…" "I know Matsumoto…I have a couple more seconds…just…wait." He told the lieutenant, pulling away from the last person he least wanted to leave. "Toushiro…" she mumbled as he turned his back on her."I'm sorry…" he repeated for what seemed like the thousandth time. "STOP SAYING YOU ARE SORRY!" she shouted angrily, grabbing his sleeve. He easily wrenched free before stepping forward to join his lieutenant.

As the doors were closing, Karin kept shouting at him, asking questions and telling him how stupid he was. She was almost in tears. His heart wrenched and tried to tug himself back out of the portal; back to the person he loved; trying to stop being the idiot she proclaimed that he was, but his brain overpowered his heart, but just barely. Toushiro felt tears prick at his eyes, but he held them back. He'd learned a long time ago to stop his tears. A captain doesn't cry, no matter what.

_It's best she's mad at me when I leave, it'll be easier for her to forget…_ Toushiro thought. _Is that really what you think?_ I asked him, with a short sigh, through his thoughts, and that was the last thing he heard as the gate was almost shut all the way closed, sending him back to Soul Society. Toushiro looked just in time to cast a saddened look at Karin as the doors closed completely. "I'm sorry…I love you. Good bye, Karin." Toushiro whispered, and Karin heard it. As the doors closed shut all of the way, Karin sank down to her knees and wept her heart out. _K-karin…_ I said through her thoughts. "Who's there?" she called out, but she did not receive any reply. "T-toushiro…why did you have to leave me?"

***************

Me: okay well im sry for two things. 1. that this chapter took so long for update (…I still blame Summer School), and 2. bcuz this chapter was a sad chapter.

Toushiro: w-will I ever get to see Karin any time soon?

Me: …

Toushiro: p-please?

Me: *sigh* (this is a warning and a spoiler) something is going to happen between Toushiro and Momo cuz Karin's not there. (…can anyone guess it? it's kinda obvious…) Yes I know that this is a Hitsu_Karin_ fanfic but everything will turn out well in the end

Toushiro: …me…and Momo…huh? Wat do ya mean?

Me: *sweatdrop* …never mind Toushiro…

Toushiro: …k…

Me: *for my other story (A Chance Meeting)* I'm almost done with chapter 2 so I will post that soon as well. (if u read that story, then plz review) in fact, please REVIEW this chapter and a thx to everyone. And a special thx once again goes to Whil-o-Whisp for the help on this chapter!


	14. Cause and Effect

Me: well here is the long awaited chapter 14! Omg it feels like _forever _since I updated.

Toushirou: …er…I kinda _has _beenforever…

Karin: naw I think it hasn't been _that _long.

Me: thanks Karin =D and I just wanted to say that this chappy is dedicated to BBleached and Yemi Hikari because both of these amazing authors have review every single chapter of this story and I promised that if anyone did that, then the nxt chapter would be dedicated to them… ^.^

Karin: yup no problem and a thanks goes to all of those who have also reviewed.

Me: hey do you mind doing the disclaimers

Karin: sure…*clears throat* Winter does NOT own Bleach… (or else that good for nothin Momo would be history) -.^ now onto the story!

Me: yeah and one last thing. I have switched the "genre" from something *lol* to angst cuz the story is no longer gonna be all happy. But in the end, I think that Karin will have a happy ending. Well, enjoy!

***************

Cause and Effect

***************

_Stephany's POV_

_10 years later (after Toushirou left Karin)_

X.x.X

(Some readers have asked me about Aizen. This story –in the beginning- has taken place before the Winter War, and then when I -Stephany- became Head Captain, Aizen made his move such as…faking his death, etc. which is on chapter 7. Aizen is still alive and he is gonna play a huge part in the story very soon, so keep on reading.)

X.x.X

The doors slid open to reveal a white-haired child with so much excitement, that you would have thought that he had just received some candy that was his favorite flavor.

"Captain, remember to be careful." A woman said.

"Yes Matsumoto. I don't need to be reminded, thank you very much."

Matsumoto just smiled and then ran off using shunpo.

"Do NOT use over five hundred dollars, Matsumoto, or else." The boy called out.

"Whatever you say, Captain." Came the reply and then the woman was gone.

The boy sighed and then started walking to the Kurosaki household.

When he arrived at the house, he sighed and then jumped on top of the roof. He released a little bit of his reiatsu to let a certain someone know of his presence. A few moments later, a window opened and a grey eyed girl jumped on the roof to join the boy.

"So…why are you here, Toushirou?" the girl asked, her voice was full of venom and it made Toushirou shrink back in slight fear of the now fully grown woman who was standing right in front of him.

"I came to speak with you about-"

"TOUSHIROU HITSUGAYA! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, YOU ARE SO DEAD!" a voice called out.

"Can it Ich-nii!" Karin shouted.

"No way, I'm gonna bankai his little a-"

"Ichigo, leave them alone." Another voice called out, adding to the rising chaos.

"R-Rukia Kuchiki, she's here…why?" asked a very confused Toushirou.

Karin just smacked her palm against her head and sighed.

"Okay, Rukia is here because she and Ichigo have been getting…erm…_close_." Karin said and Toushirou started to cough.

"C-close…? W-what about Captain Kuchiki…does he even know about it?" Toushirou asked.

"No he doesn't and if you inform him, then I will not even hesitate to use my bankai on you." A familiar orange headed boy called out. Toushirou looked down towards Karin's window and saw Karin's big brother poking his head out her window to see what was going on.

"Ichigo, shut up! My deepest apologies, Captain Hitsugaya, he didn't mean it." Rukia said. Toushirou just nodded his head and then turned back to Karin.

"What is it that you want, Toushirou?" Karin asked once again. Toushirou gulped, feeling a bit intimidated but just tried to brush it off.

"…you…I want you to marry me. My life has been…well to put it bluntly, a living hell without you. I really miss you by my side. Please…do you remember _anything_ from the battle?" Toushirou asked hopefully.

"B-battle…what battle?" Karin asked, killing all of Toushirou's hopes.

"K-Kurosaki never told you?" Toushirou asked incredulously.

"Told me what?" Karin challenged.

"Eh…well…if I told you, then you probably wouldn't believe me. That's why I need your brother to tell you." Toushirou explained.

"Fine…Ichigo!" Karin called out.

A few seconds later, Ichigo stuck his head out of Karin's window. "Yeah, what's up, Karin?"

"What information, about me, have you withheld from me?" Karin asked straightforwardly.

"W-what do you mean? I'm not hiding anything from-"Ichigo trailed off. "Oh…so the kid told you that I know something about you and…oh…" Ichigo said, pulling everything together.

"Wow Kurosaki, I'm, in all honesty, surprised." Toushirou said unemotionally.

"And why is that?" Ichigo asked.

"Because, normally you are a very slow and thick headed person and I expected to have to explain some things to you. But it looks like you have pieced most of it together…and I am NOT a kid!" Toushirou said.

"Yeah, yeah…why don't you and Karin come on down and I will explain some things to her." Ichigo said and then withdrew his head from the window, allowing both of the people on the roof to come down.

When everyone was inside Karin's room, Ichigo started to tell the story of Karin from the beginning to the end. The room Ichigo originally had gone to Karin when Ichigo continued to grow and he got another room that was a bit larger. When Ichigo was finished speaking, Karin was rubbing her head as if she had a headache from all of the information.

"Okay, well if all that you have said was true, then what about the woman that you were talking bout…um…Stephany? I have run into her a few times when I am outside and when we first met, she gave no indication that she knew me. Why is that?" Karin asked.

"It's because I didn't want to arouse suspicion." I said.

Everyone jumped upon hearing me speak.

"So…why can you remember everything, but I can't and you are my spirit?" Karin asked me.

"It is complicated, but I'll put it as easily as I can. When Aizen's attack you and wiped away your memories, I was not part of you. I was like I am now, separated. Ichigo did a good job recounting what happened, but he wasn't there for many important things that had happened, so he missed many important details. I will allow Toushirou to explain what Ichigo missed, and I will help him along the way." I said and then gestured to Toushirou to start explaining.

Toushirou filled in as much as he could, but he did miss a few details that I happily filled in. Once everything was explained, Toushirou sighed, leaned back against the wall, and looked at Karin. Then he turned towards Ichigo and Rukia.

"Kurosaki, Miss Kuchiki, will you please excuse me and Karin for a few minutes. I need to speak with her privately."

Rukia immediately nodded and started to stand, but Ichigo just crossed his arms across his chest.

"Why should I let you? Haven't you already caused enough pain for Karin?"

"Ichigo!" Rukia exclaimed and then bowed deeply to Toushirou. "He didn't mean it, Captain Hitsugaya. Please forgive him." Rukia pleaded, but the damage was already done.

Toushirou turned and looked out the window, trying to push the feeling of guilt away. "I-its fine, please just leave." Toushirou whispered.

"Yes sir," Rukia said to Toushirou and then turned to Ichigo. "Get up; we are going to leave the room, NOW." Rukia said in a deadly quite voice.

Ichigo looked once at Rukia's face, and then bolted out of the room.

Toushirou sighed and then turned to face Karin; then taking her hand in his, he spoke.

"Karin, I am so very sorry about leaving you all of those years ago, but I was under orders and if I disobeyed…well I would get into so much trouble because I had to ask if I could find you and say goodbye. I was lucky to get that permission because the Head Captain, Stephany's grandfather, was pleased with me, thus letting me see you one last time, even if it was for a few minutes." Toushirou explained.

Karin nodded and then closed her eyes. Then I decided to speak up.

"Karin, I want to show you a memory that I think that you will enjoy, but unfortunately, the memory does not end on a happy note…" I said and then looked at Karin, who just nodded and then closed her eyes. I put my hand on her forehead and then conveyed a memory to her. The memory was the one when Toushirou proposed to Karin all those years ago, but then Aizen interrupted her answer. When the memory was over, I removed my hand from her head and then sat down on her bed. **(A/N: If anyone remembers correctly, Aizen took Karin away before she could reply and Toushirou never got his answer.)**

"Wow, what was that?" Karin asked me.

"I am able to erase memories, but I can also show others certain memories if need be." I explained and then looked at Toushirou who looked like he was going to faint any moment. I couldn't suppress the short laughed that erupted from my mouth at the sight.

"Go ahead, Toushirou. I won't interrupt." I said and Toushirou nodded and got down on his knees.

"Karin, you may not have your memories anymore, but will you please marry me? I have been waiting for you, for I don't know how long, to ask you. The Head Captain wouldn't allow me to leave for this long because he wanted me to "focus" and be alert. But in short, it didn't work. I could not find myself focusing for more than ten minutes at a time on the good days. On the bad days…I wouldn't even go to work. Rangiku got so worried about me, that she even did the work…and that lasted for about a year until the Head Captain and I made a deal. He told me that if I started to work once again, than he would allow me to come here to the human world the next time any help was needed. I agreed and I sorta woke up from the trance that I was in. Don't you see, Karin? I need you. Please…please remember me…" Toushirou said and then leaned in and kissed Karin.

At first, Karin froze, but then quickly regained her composer and kissed him back…then her eyes glazed over.

Karin quickly pulled away and started to look around, but I could tell that she was not seeing her room, but seeing many memories come back to her. After a few minutes of just staring around the room, Karin's eyes closed for a few seconds, and then snapped open. Karin looked at me, quickly shot a look at Toushirou, and then leaped into his arms. Karin kissed Toushirou and then pulled away, breathless from the trial that she just went through.

"Y-yes, I will marry you." Karin said and I smiled.

Toushirou stared beaming and I laughed once again.

"So, when are we going to get married?" Karin asked.

"…one week…" were the short two words that Toushirou spoke and then looked to see Karin's reaction.

Karin smiled, but had a look in her eyes. "Why…"

"…so early?" Toushirou completed. "Because I only have maybe a month, at most, here and then I will have to return."

Karin nodded and then smiled even bigger. "Okay, let's get married!" Karin said, and she meant it. I decided to leave them alone, so I walked out of the room. When I shut the door, Karin and Toushirou sneaked up onto the roof…

*****

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." And that is exactly what Toushirou did. When Karin and Toushirou broke apart, they walked out of the church holding hands.

"Karin, you do realize that our honeymoon can only be three days at most, right?" Toushirou asked, for it seemed like the hundredth time.

"Yes Shiro, I understand that, now let's go!" Karin said and they both got into the car that was waiting for them.

*****

_The next morning _

_(during Karin and Shiro's honeymoon)_

The sunrays were slowly creeping in through the blinds. It was a beautiful morning and it was the start of something new. Karin woke up with a groan, slowly remembering what had happened last night. It was amazing and was something that she never thought would ever happen, and it happened with the one she loved. Karin stretched and the slight movement on the bed awoke Toushirou from his sleep. Toushirou leaned over and kissed Karin on her throat and cheek and then spoke.

"How was the night?" he asked her, smiling.

"Really good." Karin replied and she wasn't lying. Last night she gave her virginity away and made love to the man that she loved. It was truly the greatest thing that she ever did, except the day when she realized that she loved Toushirou.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Karin asked and Toushirou opened his mouth to answer, but his phone went off. Toushirou sighed and looked at Karin, who had an amused look on her face. Toushirou reluctantly reached and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Captain, we have a problem! Quick! We have direct orders to return to Soul Society immediately!" Rangiku's voice called out.

"What? This mission was supposed to last at least a month!" Toushirou protested.

"I know Captain, but orders are orders. I'll see you in thirty minutes…and tell Karin that I said hello and congrats on getting married!" Rangiku called out and then hung up the phone, missing the "MASUMOTO!" that Toushirou yelled out.

Karin couldn't help herself. She started laughing at her husband's reaction and almost fell off the bed, but Toushirou caught her just in time.

"When will you return?" Karin asked.

"I…I do not know." It was a simple and honest answer. Toushirou closed his eyes, thinking.

_Both of you please cover yourselves. _I said and gave them a few moments to find their clothes. Then Karin's necklace started to shine as well as Toushirou's sword, which was lying in the corner of the room, and Sterling and I appeared.

"Well, this is unfortunate." I said.

"Yeah." Karin replied.

"Well Toushirou, I think that you should get properly dressed and Sterling and I will wait outside. We, Karin and I, are going to escort you to where Rangiku is waiting for you." I said and I got up with Sterling by my side, and we walked outside and shut the door, giving Karin and Toushirou maximum privacy for a few minutes.

Ten minutes later, the door opened to find a troubled looking Toushirou and a not so happy Karin. I just simply sighed and started, slowly, walking towards where I felt Rangiku's spirit energy. When we arrived, Rangiku came up to us.

"Why hello, Stephany. I never expected to see you. How have you been?" she asked me.

"I have been doing well, and yourself?"

"Well, thanks."

"So what exactly _is_ your assignment here in the human world?" I asked.

"We are here to kill hollows and there was a rumor that someone had seen an arrancar around here, so we were sent to investigate and search, but I have found nothing and something is happening at Soul Society, so we must return." Rangiku explained and I nodded.

"Okay, well I do hope to see you both very soon. When do you depart?" I asked…why was I being so formal? It was so unlike me… I shrugged the random thought of and paid attention to what Rangiku was saying.

"It is uncertain. It could be in a few days, or years, but I hope the first one is more accurate than the last."

"Ah, I see. Um Rangiku, I need to talk to you for a few minutes. Let's go over here were we can talk in private." I said, hoping Karin caught my hint. She did and casted me a simile of thanks for allowing her and Toushirou to be alone for a few minutes more.

When we were out of listening distance, I spoke.

"So Rangiku, you do understand that I am only over here because I wanted to let my mistress have a few more moments with Toushirou, alone, before you guys leave, right?"

"Yes, I sorta figured that out." she replied with a smile.

"Well, why don't you tell me what has been happing in Soul Society while I was gone. Anything change…are you seeing anyone?" I questioned and for some strange reason, Rangiku blushed.

"What?" I asked.

Rangiku told me about Momo having a few false alerts of waking up, but she never became fully awake to make any since. We chatted for a few minutes before I lost control of my curiosity.

"So…are you in a relationship with anyone again, Rangiku?" I asked her.

"I…yeah, I am." She stammered out.

"Oh, and who's the lucky guy?" I inquired.

"…why don't you try and guess. I'll give you a hint. He is a Captain of one of the higher divisions."

"Hm…not Ukitake…it better NOT be that weird freak show Kurotsuchi, right?" I asked her, hoping that she would say no to the latter guess.

"No, it's not ether of them." She said and I let out a small sigh of relief.

"Well, is it Shunsui?" I asked.

She shook her head no. Then my eyes widened because I knew who it was.

"Zaraki Kenpachi?" I whispered. Rangiku looked down and nodded yes. I couldn't help myself. I let out a semi-loud laugh.

"Are you serious?" I asked her.

"Yes." Was the one word reply.

"w-wow…I just never would have thought that you would be interested in a guy like him, but I think that he is one of the most loyal captains that we have, so im very happy for you." I said.

"Really?" Rangiku asked me. I nodded. "Gee, thanks, Stephany. I hope that you can come and visit us in Soul Society very soon." Rangiku said and then looked up at the sky. "Well we better get going. We are supposed to be there, speaking with the Head Captain, by lunch time, so we better be going." Rangiku said.

I just nodded, a plan forming in my head. "Okay, well have a safe trip. Good bye."

"Good bye, hope to see you soon!" Rangiku said as the gates appeared.

"Oh, you will see me sooner than you think…" I muttered under my breath.

"Good bye, Toushirou. I love you." Karin said, taking Toushirou's hand in hers.

"Good bye, Karin. I love you too." Toushirou said and then dropped her hand and walked to join Rangiku. Then the gate shut and they were both gone.

I turned to face Karin and she had a strange look on her face. It was the look of disbelief.

"I just got married, and now I might not see my husband for months…" Karin mumbled to herself.

"Hey Karin, may I talk to you. I want to ask you something."

"Sure, what's up?"

"I am asking permission from you to leave the human world and go to Soul Society. I will return, but I want to check up on things and I think that Rangiku was withholding some things from me. I want to see some things for myself. Is that okay with you? I can try and restore some of your memory and then show you how to defend yourself if ever the need arises. Are you okay with that?" I asked her.

"Yeah, im good with that plan, but how long do you think that you will be gone?" she asked me.

"that I do not know. It all depends on what is going on in Soul Society. If there is nothing serious going on, then I will return quickly, but if something _is_ happening, then I will allow you to come to Soul Society. I will try to report as often as I can." I said.

"Okay, but why are you telling me all of this?" Karin questioned.

"Because you are my mistress and i believe that you have the right to know." I said.

"Okay. When are you going to go?"

"In three days. Today I am going to try and restore your memories, as many as possible. Then tomorrow, if restoring your memories works, im going to train with you. Then the third day, I am going to rest and then the next morning, I am going to go to Soul Society."

"Okay, then let's get started."

***************

After I had restored as many memories as I could, without hurting Karin, I decided to explain something that only I know about.

"Karin…I need to tell you something about some people that you saw in your memories. It's about Aizen, Gin, and Tosen. When they left and abandoned Soul Society, I had arranged it so that if anyone left, they would forget all about me, my powers, and my connection with you. That is why if you and I ever go to Soul Society, you must be careful of what you say. I believe that there are some people spying for the three captains who deserted us. Please be mindful of what you say. I have to leave in the morning, so I need to get some rest. I will leave when the sun rises. Good bye, Karin. Be safe." I said and then when and laid down on a bed and fell asleep.

***************

_In the morning_

"Karin…karin wake up." I said, shaking her body.

"Hm, what's up Stephany?"

"I am leaving now. Here, I wanted you to have this. It's a Dragon Tear. Please be careful while im gone and whatever you do, do NOT let anyone know that you have the jem. If anyone knew that I gave you a Dragon Tear, then you would be in more danger than you already are. I have to go now, so I'll see you as soon as I can and I'll try to find a way to talk to you. Good bye." I said and then walked out the door.

***************

_In Soul Society_

"Hey, where is everybody? There is like no one here. That's odd. Well I guess I'll give my grandfather a surprise visit." I said and started walking towards the first division.

When I was close to the division, I saw about one thousand people standing outside Grandfather's office, waiting for _something_ to happen. I had already decided upon coming here, that no one was to know, aside the Captains and Lieutenants that I was here. I closed my eyes, thinking on how to get into Grandfather's office, where they were obviously having a Captain and Lieutenant meeting. I thought for one moment and then opened my eyes. I had an idea. I used my light speed and ran about five miles away and released a very small Wind Hurricane and it made a loud _boom _as it hit a few buildings, causing debris and smoke to rise in the air. I saw many people coming to investigate and I ran back to the first division.

As I approached, I noticed that most of the people that were previously there, took the bait and went to check out the explosion. There were only about one hundred of the thousands that were there. I shrugged and closed my eyes. Right in the middle of all of the people, a small but powerful tornado appeared and people started to back off. I smiled at how easy this was turning out to be, and made a run for the door, that had swung open from the force of my tornado.

As I sneaked inside, I saw that Toushirou was standing in the middle of all of the Captain's and Lieutenants. I looked and saw a worried look from Rangiku. I looked around and saw a chair in the corner, out of everybody's way, so I ran and sat in it. I didn't care if anyone saw me, but all the same, I hoped no one did. My wish came true and no one even noticed me. Then Toushirou resumed speaking and I started to pay attention to his words.

"There were no arrancar in the human world. I think Masumoto only came in contact with one hollow, on this mission. Um sir, may I ask you a question?" Toushirou asked.

My grandfather sighed and then nodded, indicating yes.

"Why were I and Lieutenant Masumoto called back to Soul Society. I see neither threat, nor do I sense any danger approaching."

Grandfather looked at Toushirou and then sighed.

"You do know that any type of relationship with humans is not allowed?"

"Yes sir, but I thought that you had allowed me…er…"special" permission to be with Karin."

"I only did that because my granddaughter was here. Now that she has left, I will go back to the original rule."

"B-but why sir?" Toushirou asked, a note of pleading entered his voice.

"Because I only did it for my granddaughter's happiness, and now that she is gone and probably won't return until that girl dies, what I say goes."

"S-sir, please. Why say this now?" Toushirou asked, casting a look at Rangiku, who looked just as stunned as he did.

"Because my sources have informed me that you went and visited the girl during your mission and I don't want you to become attached to her, again. Now tell me, did anything happen in the human world that I should know about?"

I felt sick to my stomach. How dare Grandfather do that to Toushirou! I was outraged and the temperature started to show it. I quickly regained control of the temperature and looked around. No one had noticed me, and they all expected that the drop in temperature was Toushirou's doing.

"Sir…please. Allow me to stay with Karin." Toushirou begged and I winched at how pitiful it sounded.

"No, now tell me what happened between you two."

"I…I cannot, sir. I apologize, but it is between me and her. Please forgive me."

"How dare you. You will tell me what happened right now or else I will strip you of your rank." Grandfather threatened.

"I will not. Take away my rank, but I refuse to tell you anything more about Karin and myself."

"Last chance, _Captain_ Hitsugaya. Tell me or lose your position."

"…I will lose my position." Toushirou whispered and I could tell that Grandfather was furious.

Toushirou looked down and then looked back up. When he looked up, he had a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Sir, what would happen if I went and got your granddaughter and told her of this…what would she think?" Toushirou asked, and then Grandfather lost it.

"Sasakibe!"

"Sir!" he replied.

"Restrain him and remove Hyourinmaru."

"No, you may restrain me, but you will _not_ take Hyourinmaru from me." Toushirou hissed out. Sasakibe lashed out and struck Toushirou in the face. The force of the punch caused Toushirou to lose his balance and fall over.

"Never talk to the Head Captain like that."

"Oh…so he never did answer me. What would happen if I told his granddaughter all that has happened…what would she think?" Toushirou said in a mocking manor from the ground.

"Captain, please stop! You will get hurt." Rangiku warned, but it was too late. Grandfather had drawn his sword and swung it down towards Toushirou's head. That was when I decided to cut it.

As Grandfather's sword almost hit Toushirou in the head, I closed my eyes and my dragon tail appeared. I swung it and it met grandfather's sword with a loud _clang_. As soon as my tail and his sword collided, Grandfather got control of himself and the room went deadly quiet. However, the temperature started to drop drastically.

"His granddaughter would not be pleased with what he had said and done." I said, replying to what Toushirou had asked earlier.

Grandfather tried to swallow, but found that task harder than it was supposed to be.

"Just what were you going to do to Captain Hitsugaya, Head Captain?" I asked in the most menacing manor I could manage.

"…punish him for his insubordination." Was the reply I got. I growled low in my throat and my eyes started to change colors.

"…Grandfather…how could you…I…" I couldn't continue. I felt tears well up in my eyes. All my life I had believed that Grandfather was a kind and loving man, but that previous speech convinced me otherwise. He was only pretending to be kind, maybe because he feared me, maybe other reasons. But never the less, I felt betrayed.

I turned towards Toushirou, who was still on the ground. I leaned over and my hand was enveloped in a light green light and I touched Toushirou's cheek, where Sasakibe had hit him. At first, Toushirou winched at the contact, but then relaxed as I finished healing him.

"And Grandfather, if I recall correctly, you also had a relations ship with a human…that is how I came to be. So I think that you should lay off of Toushirou and Karin." I said and then glared at him.

"I…fine…," then he sighed. "How long have you been listening?" he asked me. I shrugged.

"I came in when Toushirou was giving his report about not seeing any arrancar." I said. Grandfather just nodded his head and then the room went into an awkward silence.

After about five minutes of nothing but crickets chirping, I lost it.

"What is the meaning of the captain meeting? Why did you call it because I, just like Toushirou, cannot sense anything dangerous. Was this meeting _just_ to confront one of your captain's about his love life, because if that was the reason, then I have even more reasons to be mad at you." I said.

"No, Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Masumoto were summoned back because of Aizen. We had believed that-"

"Please spare me the details, Grandfather. I care not about Aizen, and wouldn't it have been a wiser move to allow Toushirou and his Lieutenant in the human world if Aizen had decided to target it?" I questioned.

"Well, I never thought of that…" Grandfather said. I just rolled my eyes and looked away.

"So tell me, why were all of the people outside? What were they waiting for?" I asked.

"They are awaiting orders from us. All of the Captains and Lieutenants were called into an emergency meeting and many others followed us, waiting for us to give them orders of some sort." A voice said. I turned to see the speaker. As I was looking around, I saw Rangiku blush and I wondered why. When I saw who spoke, I could help the small laugh that came out. The speaker was none other than Zaraki Kenpachi.

"Ah I see, and what orders would that be?" I questioned.

"Whatever the Head Captain ordered us to do." He replied. I just nodded and then started thinking.

"S-Stephany…STEPHANY!" someone called out.

I snapped my head up and looked around to see who called out my name. It was Rangiku.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Where is Karin?" she whispered to me.

"Human world." I said and then went back to thinking. If Aizen really was after power, then he would be trying to find something that has a huge amount of it…me. He had tried that once. He had captured Karin and then held me up to it, threatening me if I didn't give him some power, but Aizen wouldn't use it now, would he? No, he would wait until he got more of it…and that was many years ago… Hold on a minute…the decrease in hollows, yet someone had said that there was an arrancar in the human world. Why would anyone say a lie. Unless the person had an idea as to what Aizen was up to…they could have told the lie to make the Head Captain send a Captain to the human world, knowing that the Head Captain had promised to send Toushirou the first chance he got…the person would have known that when Toushirou was in the human world, that he would go and visit Karin immediately, however from what I heard, almost everyone knew about his wanting to be with my mistress.

Then it hit me. This was all a trap! Someone had spread a rumor about the arrancar, knowing that Grandfather would act upon it, and he did; he sent Captain Hitsugaya. Then after a week of staying in the human world, someone told Grandfather something and that made Grandfather order Toushirou back. The person must have known that I would follow soon…and leave Karin unprotected with a Dragon Tear. Aizen was after the Dragon Tear I gave her. I quickly stood up and walked out of the room. Then I closed my eyes and focused on Karin. I could not sense her spiritual energy. I quickly opened my eyes and then turned towards the Captains and Lieutenants.

"Grandfather, I am going to need to borrow three of your Captains," I said. "Captain Hitsugaya, Kenpachi, and Unohana, please come with me, along with Rangiku and Yachiru. Isane, please stay here and fill in for Captain Unohana. I don't have time to explain, please hurry!" I said and then looked at the sky, which had turned from a beautiful light blue cloudless sky, to grey and menacing looking.

I was about to open a gate to return to the human world, when a hole opened, out of thin air, in the sky.

"No…" I called out. I knew that my guess was accurate at this time. If someone had sent hollows to Soul Society to slow me down, then I knew that someone was trying to keep me from the human world were Karin was. I looked up and saw that there were so many hollows, that you couldn't even see the sky.

"NO!" I thundered and then transformed. Everyone was surprised at my reaction, but drew their swords, none the less.

"Captain Hitsugaya, Captain Kenpachi, Captain Unohana, Lieutenant Rangiku and Lieutenant Yachiru, please, you must get to the human world as quickly as possible. Karin is in danger and so is Soul Society. Toushirou, if Aizen gets a hold of another Dragon Tear, then there could be some major problems. I had left one with Karin and someone knew and informed Aizen. The person knew that i would come to Soul Society and leave Karin behind. Please, you must hurry." I said and then a stream of Fire and Lightning erupted from my mouth, killing at least one hundred hollows and injuring many others.

"Aizen!" I roared and then another crack in the sky opened.

"Ah, I see that the beautiful Wind Dragon had already figured it out, but don't worry, Karin won't live for long…" Aizen said and then vanished. I roared even louder and then turned towards the ones who were close to me.

"Quick, you must get to the human world and save my mistress. I shall remain here and fight. Please hurry." I said and a gate way opened. All five of them stepped in and I nodded my good bye.

"I am counting on all of yall. Good bye and good luck." I said and then the gate closed.

***************

_One hour later_

_Soul Society_

I swung my tail down and destroyed yet another hollow.

"Geez, how many did that make? A million?" I asked out loud and then transformed into my human form. I heard a light chuckle and i turned around. I felt a hand rest on top of my head and I frowned. I gently pushed off the hand and turned to see who it was. It was Shunsui and Ukitake. Shunsui was the one who put his hand on my head and Ukitake was the one who chuckled.

"Well, we most certainly got a great work out." Ukitake said and then started coughing.

"Ukitake! Here, be still." I said and then I gently put my hands on Ukitake's chest and concentrated. My hands were enveloped in a green light. After a few moments, I removed my hands and Ukitake looked grateful.

"T-thank you," He said and then sighed. "I no longer feel the burning, what did you do?" he asked me.

"I just healed your lungs as best as I could." I said and smiled. "I need to get to the human world." I mumbled and then excused myself.

I looked around and didn't see any more hollows. I looked straight ahead and a gate appeared and opened. I looked around and saw that Captain Kuchiki was walking towards me. I smiled at him and he just nodded.

"Captain, will you please deliver a message to Grandfather? Please tell him that I have returned to the human world and that I will not return to Soul Society without Karin with me…unless it is important."

"Yes, I will tell him."

"Thank you." I said and then stepped in the gates. As they were closing, I smiled once again and then the doors shut.

***************

As I arrived in the human world, all I could see was fire. I was terrified and then I heard a huge _boom_. I quickly summoned a small hurricane and extinguished the raging fire. Then I ran to find were the huge noise came from. As I approached the spot, I heard a voice call out.

"Shoot to Death, Shinsou." And then a loud _clang_ as metal collided with metal. I walked up, I saw Gin Ichimaru engaged in battle with Zaraki. I decided to allow him to have his fun. I started to run once again towards Karin's house. When I arrived, I saw that it was broken into. I concentrated and I could tell that there were some people in the house. I silently, using my light speed, ran into the house, looking for the people. When I came to Karin's room, I saw her unconscious body lying on the bed with Toushirou standing over her. I saw that Toushirou had his sword drawn and that he was bleeding profusely. Then I heard a light chuckle. It was Aizen.

"Boy, do you really think that you can harm me?" Aizen asked in a light voice. Toushirou didn't move. I quietly made my teeth become as sharp as razors and I could feel the dragon venom in my mouth. I smiled evilly and as quick as I could, ran in the room and sunk my teeth into Aizen's neck. Then I quickly moved away and went to stand by Toushirou.

Aizen choked out a small yell of shock and then started backing away from me.

"Leave. Now." I said, my voice full of venom, almost as strong as the venom in my mouth.

Aizen looked at Karin once and then he walked away and then a huge yellow light surrounded him and then he was gone.

I breathed a sigh of relief and turned to face Toushirou.

"So…what happened?" I asked him, and he stiffened.

"I believe that you will have to ask Karin that." He said and looked down.

"Um…okay…" I said and watch Toushirou stand up, for he had sat down when Aizen left.

"I think that i must be getting back to Soul Society. Good bye, Stephany." He said and then started to walk away.

Then I remembered something that I wanted to tell him. "Toushirou, I just wanted to tell you that only Rangiku knows about your marriage. She was there, even thought you didn't know it."

"What, I thought that it was only me and Karin. We, just for this purpose, didn't invite or tell anyone about our marriage."

"I think that you have such a good bond with your Lieutenant, and that she can keep a secret, so I was the one who told her that you both were getting married, so im the one to blame for her knowing." I said and Toushirou nodded and then walked outside.

I was surprised to see that he didn't even have a scratch on him. I saw him call out and Rangiku came and joined him. Then a gate opened and he walked into it without another word. The gate closed and Toushirou was gone.

***************

_Two months later (this is a hint)_

"Oh…I don't feel so well…" Karin said and then ran to the restroom and started to through up.

"Karin, are you okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah, im fine. I think I just got a stomach virus or something. Im good." she said and then went to lie back down.

***************

_(major time skip)_

_Four years later_

"Yes!" Karin said as she destroyed the hollow. As the smoke from the explosion cleared, she sensed another person's presence. Karin stared straight ahead, ready to take on another challenge if it resorted to it.

Karin had without a doubt changed, one year after Toushirou had left, and Karin had reached full maturity, mentally as well as physically. That was the year Karin had started to hold a deep secret. Something that only I, Karin and her family (sister, brother and father) knew about.

"Karin…" I called out as if to warn her.

"Yeah, I know." Was her response.

"Do you want me to face him first?" I asked her.

"No. You just keep yourself and the secret safe until it's time to tell everyone." Karin said and then turned her full attention towards a person who was approaching her.

"K-Karin? Is that you?" a voice called out.

"Why would _you_ care anymore? You're the one that left _me_." Karin hissed out. I still never learned what had happened between them. Whenever I would ask Karin, she would snap at me and then walk away. I would never dare look at her memories because I respected her privacy.

"Karin, I told you. I didn't have a choice." The voice said.

"Lies."

The dust fully cleared and I could see, even though I already knew, who it was.

"Hello Captain Hitsugaya." I greeted him.

"Hello Stephany." He said and then turned back to Karin, but she had already started to run off. Toushirou bolted after her.

"Karin! Karin, wait!" Toushirou yelled, trying to catch up with her.

"Why should I?" Karin yelled over her shoulder, speeding up in the process. Karin turned around to see how far away Toushirou was from her. Karin was surprised to see that he had almost caught up with her. Karin turned around and tried to speed up, but a pair of hands came and wrapped themselves around Karin's waist, causing her to lose her balance and fall over, bringing Toushirou with her.

Karin fell and tried to put her left arm out to catch her fall, but the hands that were still on Karin's waist, caused her to fully turn and fall flat on her back, with Toushirou on top. When Karin hit the ground, the air was forced out of her lungs with a big "oof". Toushirou was looking down at Karin, smirking in triumph. However, Toushirou's little triumphal dance was short lived because Karin brought her fist back and swung at Toushirou, hitting him right in the stomach. But the punch wasn't any ordinary punch, it was infused with her spirit energy, so when it made contact with Toushirou's stomach, he grunted, trying to suppress a scream of pain and surprise, and coughed up blood.

Karin looked at Toushirou for a split second, then turned on her heels and walked away.

"K-Karin, please…wait…" Toushirou whispered and then coughed up more blood. Karin sighed and then started to walk back to Toushirou. But as Karin was almost by Toushirou, the girl Karin wanted to see appeared, Momo Hinamori.

"What are _you _doing here?" Karin snarled, and Momo was taken aback by her hostility. "I was just here because-"

"I don't care." Karin interrupted her.

"Wh-what did I ever do to you?" Momo asked. At that time, Toushirou decided to speak up.

"Karin…I would like you to meet my wife, Momo Hitsugaya." Toushirou said and Karin's jaw dropped…and so did her heart. Toushirou sighed and his eyes met with Karin's, but she quickly looked away.

Wait…_who_ are you?" Momo asked.

"Im Karin Hitsu…I'm Toushirou's _ex_-wife." Karin said sadly.

"E-ex…wife…since when were you married, Shiro? Let alone get a divorce?" Momo asked, her head swarming with questions.

"You're married?" a little voice called out. Toushirou and Momo whipped their heads around, trying to locate where the voice came from.

"Wow, they are really stupid if they don't know where I am." The voice continued. Toushirou turned to look at Karin as was surprised to see tears streaming down her face as she tried her best to wipe them away before anyone saw them.

"K-karin…im so very s-"

"Don't you even _dare_ to say that to me!" Karin yelled as she gave up trying to wipe the tears away.

"K-Karin…" Toushirou whispered, and started to back away from her (pulling Momo with him) because the temperature suddenly plummeted about thirty to forty degrease. Not only that, but Karin's spiritual pressure started to strongly increase.

Then the voice called out once again. "NI-NI!" the voice sounded like it belonged to a little girl around the age of three.

"Hush." I called out, and everybody (but Karin0 turned to look at me. "Hey!" I said and waved. Everyone, including Karin, sweatdropped. "What?" I asked innocently. Karin started taking deep breaths and I waved my hand around in circles and the temperature returned to normal.

"Aw! I liked the cold, why did ya have to take it away, Ni-Ni?" the voice asked. I looked at Karin and met her eyes, silently asked for her permission. Karin nodded and I opened my arms.

"Come on down, Yuki. It's time for you to meet a few people." I called out. Immediately, a little white blur launched away from the tree and landed in my arms, slightly knocking the air from my lungs.

I turned to Karin and nodded, indicating that she should speak. Karin nodded back and then turned to face Toushirou and Momo.

"Toushirou, I would like you to meet Yuki, your daughter." Karin said, smirking. Now it was Toushirou and Momo's turn for their jaws to drop.

"D-daughter?" Toushirou mumbled out.

"Yup!" Karin said and then walked away, tears still streaming down her face.

"M-mommy? Mommy, what's wrong?! Ni-Ni, what's wrong with Mommy?" Yuki cried out.

"Shhh, it's gonna be okay. Don't worry about Karin, she's gonna be alright. Just leave her alone for a while, okay?" Yuki looked at me and nodded. "And Yuki, this is your father, Toushirou Hitsugaya." I explained.

"That's…D-daddy?" Yuki asked, trying to take all of the new information into her tiny head,

"Yes…" I whispered and started to follow Karin.

Then Toushirou spoke up. "M-may I hold my…daughter?"

I looked at him and then shook my head. "No, im sorry. Karin doesn't want Yuki to become attached to you because she believes that you will leave Yuki…just like you left her…" I said and walked away to find Karin.

Then the temperature started to drop and Sterling appeared. "S-stephany…" Sterling called out. I turned to look over and saw Sterling walk towards Yuki and me. I sighed and turned around to face him.

"Sterling, did you know that Yuki is our child too?" I asked him and he stopped in his tracks.

"W-what?" Sterling asked.

"Well, when Karin and Toushirou did…_it_…on their honeymoon, we were in them…in our spirit forms. Therefore, Karin and I were one being and Toushirou and you were one being as well." I explained.

"But…whoa…" Sterling stammered out.

"Yeah…I even helped Karin give birth to Yuki…we shared the pain. And let me tell you that is something I _never_ want to experience again. I said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. Sterling just nodded.

"I'm sorry but Yuki and I have to go. Good bye, Sterling." I said, put Yuki on the ground, and then transformed. As soon as I was finished transforming, Yuki jumped up and landed on my back.

"Whoa, how did Yuki do that?" Sterling asked. I just shrugged.

"She is a very powerful child. Yuki inherited Toushirou's hair and his brains. Yuki acts as if she's maybe nine or ten…and she is only three! Yuki inherited Karin's personality…to an extent. Yuki does _not_ have many temper tantrums…but if there is something that Yuki wants to protect, then she would probably die for it if she had to…to goes for Karin as well. Passion is what it is." I said. "And Yuki inherited your eyes, Sterling."

"What about you? What does she have from you?" Sterling whispered lovingly to me. I sighed and looked down at Sterling. Then I spoke to Yuki.

"Yuki, may I tell him?" I asked her.

"N-no…I don't want anyone to know…" Yuki said.

"Okay little one." I said and then turned back to Sterling.

"I'm sorry, but I cant tell you. Yuki doesn't want me to…not yet anyways. I'm sorry, but we have to go. Good bye." I said as gently as I could and spread my wings and got ready to leave but Sterling's question stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Will I-…when will I see you again?"

I looked at him, thinking on how to answer.

"Yes I will most definitely see you again and…I don't know when, but I hope to see you very soon. Good bye, Sterling…I love you…" I said and then brought my winds down, propelling myself into the sky.

"I LOVE YOU TOO!" I heard him call out.

"Here…" I said. I swooped down and dropped something into Sterling's outstretched hand. It was a Dragon Tear. "Be safe." I whispered and then flew off to find Karin.

***************

Me: well I hope everyone enjoyed this chappy! Im soooooo sorry for not posting sooner, but hey, look at the bright side…this chappy is over 8,600 words!!! Yay! Longest chapter I have EVER written.

Karin: nice but why did _he_ marry Momo?

Me: that will be explained a bit later…(hint) it has to do with Grandfather…everything will be explained much later. And I bet (unless I told you) that not many people guessed about Yuki…and **can anyone guess what she inherited from Stephany?** If you can guess it, then I will happily dedicated the nxt chapter to you…and ya know what…ill even give you a hint as to what the next chapter is gonna be about. The next chapter is going to be a two part chapter. The first part is called "Allegiance" and the second part is going to be called "Shiroi Yuki". Well good luck with the hint! ^.^ yay I am so happy that I have finally completed this chapter. Ever since summer school started (and it's over now) I have wanted to write this chapter for a long time. I even wrote some of it out during summer school, when we had break time. I just never found the time to type.

Karin: yeah, well we both hope that you enjoyed this chapter!

Me: yeah and I'll try and update ASAP when I get back, but I will need MANY emails saying that I got reviews from u guys for encouragement! ^.^ (and im sry all of those who are Gin/Rangiku fans…I am a fan of that paring, but I just really like Zaraki/Rangiku.) Please don't kill me! *runs and avoids flying objects that are aimed for my head* if anyone had a certain paring that they would like to be in this story, then please say it…but don't be perverted. Please make it a really couple (ex. Boy and girl…not boy and boy or vice versa) thanks everyone!

(Ok im getting really confused, but now my father told me that I could take electronics on the ship…but when were overseas, I don't think that I will get internet connection. Lol, I guess that that's the new problem that has occurred. -.^ well R&R and I hope to hear from ya soon!)


	15. Part 1:Allegiance

Me: wow. I would just like to say that I am very sorry for making everyone wait for me to update. I have summer homework to do and less than two weeks to do it. XP oh well *sigh* well here is Chapter 15 part 1.

Karin: yay! Winter does NOT own Bleach. Now…if you will kindly excuse me, I need to go beat up something…or someone… *evil laugh*

Me: eh… *sweatdrop* Okay then enjoy!

***************

Allegiance

***************

_Stephany's POV _

_(One day later)_

_Soul Society_

_*_

"Grandfather… I will give you a few more days, and then I will reclaim my position as Head Captain." I said.

"Well, what about that girl…Karin? What about her?" Grandfather asked.

"That is none of your concern." I said rather coldly.

Grandfather just flinched and became quite.

*****

_Ten Years later_

_Soul Society… Captain's Meeting_

_*_

"Now, because of the Aizen issue, I am sure you all know about it by now, I have decided to test each captain here and try and find three other people to fill in for the Captains that are missing. Any questions or objections?" I asked. I looked around and Kenpachi caught my eye and I nodded, indicating that he was allowed to speak.

"How ya gonna test us?" he asked.

"I will personally fight you." I said and smiled.

Kenpachi nodded and then he smiled, thinking of a rematch with me.

"I will also need, like it or not, to see each and every one of your Bankai." I said and Kenpachi stiffened. "If there are no more questions, then you are all dismissed." I said.

All of the Captains filed out except one, who started to walk towards me, head slightly looking down. When he approached me, I looked at him.

"Yes, what do you need, Kenpachi?" I asked.

"Idonthaveabankai." He mumbled out.

"What? Speak up." I said gently.

"I said that I don't have a freaking Bankai." He yelled at me. Then he took deep breaths to calm himself down.

"Well then we will just have to take care of that now wont we." I said and smirked.

"Huh? How are you going to do that? I don't even have a freaking Spirit." He said.

I just smiled at him. "May I please see your sword?"

Kenpachi looked down at his sword and then back up at me. Then he slowly withdrew his sword from its sheath and handed it to me.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the sword, trying to reach the spirit.

Kenpachi's sword began to respond to me and it started to glow a magnificent yellow.

I opened my eyes and smiled once again.

"Captain, may I have permission to speak to your zanpaktou?" I asked.

"Sure…if you can." He said.

"Thanks." I said and then closed my eyes once again.

"_Please. If you can hear me, please respond." _I thought. I heard a slight rumble and then a voice spoke.

"_Yes, I am here. I have been here for a long time and would love to come out." _A deep like voice called out.

I opened my eyes to see not the room where the captains meet, but an open plain. The grass was a yellow color (like in Africa). But what made my eyes pop out was what was coming towards me… a Lion. Its yellow mane was beautiful…the whole creature was. Then I found myself chuckling.

"_Wow. You are a beautiful creature." _I said.

The Lion looked at me and spoke. _"Why thank you, Im flattered."_ It rumbled. I started making my way towards the beautiful beast and saw that I started to extend my arm.

"_May I?" _I asked.

For an answer, the Lion just approached me and rubbed its giant head against my hand. I slid my hand through its mane over and over again. I just couldn't get over the sheer beauty of the Lion.

I smiled and when into thought. Of course Kenpachi's spirit was a Lion…everything pointed to it. The way the big captain spoke, the way he fought, and heck, even the way his hair was, pointed to a Lion…or a creature similar to one. And then something struck me as funny. Rangiku's spirit was a cat…or more like a midnight panther and Kenpachi was a lion. I thought that that was relatively funny seeing how those two (meaning Kenpachi and Rangiku) were together and both of their spirits were cats.

I looked at the lion and then spoke. _"Will you revel yourself to the Captain for me?" _I asked him. The Lion nodded and I smiled. _"I would like to thank you for allowing me to come here and see you."_ I said.

The huge cat pulled his head up gently and rubbed against my stomach and let out a nice deep purr. I smiled. Then I thought something funny. Kenpachi and the Lion both had deep voices, and both of them also liked to be in control of most things. I reluctantly pulled away from the Lion and slightly bowed at the waist.

The Lion looked slightly shocked.

"_What's wrong?" _I asked.

"_You just bowed to me…"_ It said and I smiled, understanding. It is very rare to find me bowing to anyone, unless that had my total respect.

"_You deserve it." _I said. _"Um, I think that I have to be going now. Tonight, please talk to the Captain and I will fight both of you in two days time." _I said. The Lion nodded.

I stood up fully and closed my eyes. _"Goodbye." _ I heard him say, and then he was gone.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the floor and Kenpachi was looking at me warily.

"What?" I asked him.

"Nothing… I was just wondering if you were able to see my spirit or not." He said.

"OH HECK YEAH I SAW HIM!" I yelled and then lowered my voice.

"So my spirit is a boy…huh." Kenpachi said and I sweatdropped.

"Okay…well how long was I out?"

"Five minutes at most."

"Okay, well I have to get going, but I am going to fight you in two days. Tonight, you will meet him, tomorrow, you will train, and then in two days, you will fight. All clear?"

"Yeah…" he said and then walked away.

~ WAITY? ~

_Two days later_

_Stephany vs. Kenpachi_

"Are you ready to fight, Kenpachi?" I asked him.

"You bet…and everyone is in for quite a surprise." He said and grinned.

I nodded and then spoke to all of the Captains that were here. "You are not required to win, just to show me your abilities." Then I turned towards Kenpachi. "You ready?"

Kenpachi nodded and took his stance.

I smiled in anticipation and nodded. "Ready, set…GO!" I yelled.

Kenpachi quickly drew his sword and then charged towards me. When he was arms length away, he swung his sword down, trying to inflict some sort of damage before he used his "secret weapon". Even there were a few well-aimed swings; he still couldn't hit me because I was just too fast for him. So, he decided to use _him_.

Kenpachi chuckled and then called out loud and clear. "Blaze, Shishi no Hono!"

I stopped running to look at what his sword would do and I was not disappointed. Kenpachi's reitsu increased about ten times more. Then Kenpachi's sword was enveloped in a glowing yellow light. Then it released a bright light, temporally blinding everybody, but when the light died down, right beside the large Captain stood the Lion.

I looked around and almost everybody looked stunned. Even Byakuya Kuchiki had his mouth hanging slightly open.

"Oh, I didn't know that you were trying to catch flies Captain Kouchiki." I said and then looked at his reaction. I smiled when he looked even more stunned and just simply for his sake, didn't respond, as to hold _any _dignity he had left.

I quickly returned my attention back to Kenpachi, who was now starting to charge at me, the Lion right on his heels. As Kenpachi was about two feet from me, he swung his sword down, but what surprised me was that he completely missed me. As I was wondering why he did that, I soon found out the answer. Me hesitating one second let Kenpachi's plan fall into place. As I was looking at Kenpachi's zanpaktou, the Lion jumped at me, his claws outstretched.

"Oh so it was a diversion when Kenpachi missed me. Wow, that was well planned; and in all honesty, I was impressed. However, I had a strong felling that Kenpachi was not the one who planed it… I suspect that his Lion gave most of the advice to the Captain when they were training yesterday."

"Very nice Kenpachi. That was a great strategy but this battle is far from being won." I said and then attacked him myself. I used my light speed **(A/N: Light Speed is so much faster than shunpo…the light speed is as fast –or faster- than light itself.) **I made my dragon tail appear and swung it down upon Kenpachi's head from behind him, wondering what would happen; and what did happen surprised me. Kenpachi's Lion jumped head first into Kenpachi's stomach and sent him flying backwards and as my tail descended on the Lion, dust flew everywhere. When the dust cleared, the Lion was lying in front of me, unmoving and Kenpachi was sitting in some rubble from the wall he flew through. I just shrugged it off for the moment and turned my attention to Kenpachi, who looked beyond stunned.

"Wh…what? Shishi…no…" he growled and then turned towards me, and his reiatsu just continued to rise. However, I was unaffected by it.

"I will kill you for what you did to him…" he said and then disappeared. I looked calmly around for him and then looked up and saw his sword descending upon my head. I closed my eyes and swung my tail up over my head and it collided with Kenpachi's sword. Kenpachi was pushing down as hard as he could and as I was resisting, his force was so strong, that where I was standing, there was a forming crater. I smirked and pushed my tail up easily and Kenpachi went flying.

When Kenpachi stood up, he had a somewhat surprised look on his face, but the look disappeared quickly, and to replace the surprise look, determination flooded his eyes.

I sighed and decided that it was around time to end the battle. I stood and crouched down like a cat, ready to pounce on its prey. I smiled and my teeth got sharper and then I charged. Just as I was closing in on Kenpachi, I heard something behind me and before I could turn around, something hit me dead on my back.

I roared out of pain and anger and transformed. After I had transformed into my dragon form, I looked down and saw a small puddle of blood from my back as a human. I stood up but then roared very loudly. My back was hurting me.

Kenpachi was looking at me closely, trying to guess what I would do next.

I closed, my eyes and my whole body was enveloped in a green light. I felt the large pain in my back disappear and I stood up to full height and looked around. I was still wondering what had hit my back until my eyes found the answer. I had failed to notice in my moments of pain that Kenpachi's Lion had returned to battle and was standing by the Captain, waiting for me to make my next move.

After five seconds, my back was fully healed and I was ready to fight once again. I roared to indicate that I was going to attack, but I had a power that no one knew about. I smiled and then as I was running towards the Captain and the Lion, I duplicated myself. When I reopened my eyes, I stood in front of Kenpachi and there were four other clones that made a circle around the challengers.

"Wind Hurricane!" I roared and the sky turned dark grey and it started to rain on just Kenpachi and the Lion. The rain was pouring down hard and I could just barley see Kenpachi's form. Then I roared and the rain stopped immediately. I looked down and saw that Kenpachi was soaked and the Lion had retreated back into the form of the sword. I looked at Kenpachi and the spoke.

"This is your one chance to leave almost completely unharmed."

"Your joking right? There is no way that I would stop a battle like this. Its getting to be so much fun." He said.

"Very well, I will finish you with one last attack…" I said. "Fire-Lightning Strike!" I yelled and five huge bolts of lightning came down and struck Kenpachi. Kenpachi didn't have enough time to get away, so the attack made a direct hit. Then, to finish the job, I recalled my clones to me and then I swung my tail down and made yet another direct hit to Kenpachi… the fight was over.

I turned around and looked at all of the Captains and Lieutenants. I started to laugh because most of them had their mouths open. I used my light speed and got my camera from my room and hurried back. Before anyone knew it, I had taken a picture of everyone who had a funny face. Even Captain Kuchiki had his mouth hanging open once again and the look of astonishment written all over his face.

"Nice look you got going on there, Byakuya." I said and then turned to face Captain Unohana who looked like she was ready to run out and look at Kenpachi.

"Go ahead." I said and she wasted no time running to look at him.

"Rangiku, you may go as well." I said, not even looking at her.

I heard Rangiku start to run over to Kenpachi's side and I smiled. Of course she would be worried about him. With this thought in mind, I became somewhat depressed as I remembered Karin, who had agreed to stay in the human world with Yuki because she didn't want for Yuki to have a hard childhood because of her father. I sighed and wondered how they were. Karin and I agreed that I would reclaim my place here in Seireitei and Karin would stay in the human world. Karin and I had made that decision ten long years ago. Yuki was probbley now around fifteen. I bet that she had grown drastically. I smiled, trying to picture what Yuki now looked like. I was still upset because Karin had ardently persisted that I leave and quote "take everything of Soul Society, back with me". That hurt me when Karin had spoke those words. I had said a quick good bye to Yuki and then I left and came to Soul Society. Man, do I miss those two so much…

Just as I thought about the two, that was when disaster struck. Everyone could feel a reiatsu heading towards where we all were. I became worried as I noticed whom the reiatsu belonged to … Karin.

I transformed back into my human form and ran to meet her. I was surprised to see Karin's eyes were very close to tears.

"K-Karin!" I yelled and embraced her. Karin looked like she had been holding in her tears for some time, and she suddenly let them out. Karin was sobbing on my chest. After a good ten minutes of calmly talking, Karin composed her self the best she could and faced me.

"Stephany. It is great to see you." She said. "I have missed you dearly. However, I am very sad to say that I am not here to catch up with you… I come with a piece of good news and a piece of very bad news, but I need to speak with you privately." Karin said, looking around. I nodded and then spoke.

"Everyone please leave. We will continue tomorrow, but for now, everyone is dismissed and is allowed, if they wish, to take the day off." I said and I saw that I brightened up many people. Quicker than I thought possible, everyone but one particular captain left.

"K-Karin… may I stay?" the small captain asked.

Karin growled but nodded because she needed to tell me the news, quickly.

"Okay, the good news is that my brother, Ichigo and Rukia, got married maybe a few months after you left and they just had a baby two weeks ago." She said.

"Karin, that's great! Please give them my hello and congratulations." I said but then caught Karin's look. I looked around, but noticed something was missing. I swallowed, getting an idea about the bad news, but not really wanting to confirm it, but it had to be done.

"…And the bad news?" I whispered, getting too scared to hear the answer.

I heard Karin take a large and deep breath before continuing.

"The bad news is that… Yuki has disappeared."

"No…" I whispered. Karin had confirmed my fear… Yuki wasn't with Karin, and I couldn't feel her reiatsu anywhere.

"Yuki… missing…" I whispered and a single Dragon Tear formed and dropped to the ground…

***************

Me: well I hope everyone liked this chapter, and I am so very sorry about being so late to update. It is 1:30 AM here so I am tired, but I have good news. The next chapter is called "Shiroi Yuki". The reason for this chapter will be explained in the second part of this chapter. I am coming to an end with WAITY? - Meaning that this story is almost over- … yes I am very sad but I have good news. I already have a sequel planed. That story is going to be called, "Legacy". Well that's all, and please REVIEW!!! Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed and have fun with the cliffhanger. Until next time…


	16. Part 2: Shiroi Yuki

Me: well here is chapter 15 part two!! Wow…I never thought that id get this far. *sigh* Can anyone guess why this chapter is called "Shiroi Yuki"?

Karin: hmm…well while Im thinking on that, may I do the disclaimer?

Me: This chapter is going to be dedicated to SapphireFlamesX because she has reviewed every single chappy in this story. However, I also will say a thanks to BBleached because I am using one of her short stories in this chappy! And now Karin you may do the disclaimers.

Karin: Winter doesn't own Bleach.

Me: thanks Karin but I just wanted to say that I do (meaning yes) own Stephany (her powers), Sterling, Yuki, Shishi (the Lion), Aoi Umi, and Keitaro (who will both be introduced in this chappy). -.^ well enjoy!

***************

Shiroi Yuki

***************

_One Year Later (after Yuki disappeared)_

_Soul Society_

"Karin. I have some bad, or good news, depending on how you look at it. Will you please follow me and close your eyes." I said and led her to the Fourth Division.

As I entered, I called out. "Okay, I have brought Karin."

At once, a girl started to squeal. "Karin! Oh my gosh, I have missed you!" a girl said and embraced her. Karin's eyes flashed open the moment someone touched her. When Karin noticed who the girl was, Karin was overjoyed.

"Yuzu! How have you been? I have missed you as well." Karin said and then froze. "Wait, Yuzu. _Why_ are you here?"

"Well that's a stupid question, Karin. I died." Was Yuzu's response.

"H-how did you die? And how can you say that so… calmly?" Karin asked.

Yuzu just shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe, its just because I have learned that what is done is done and you simply can not change what happened."

"Ya got that right." Karin mumbled. "But you still haven't told me, how did you die?"

"Oh… well, I don't really remember how died. All I remember is that one moment I was just walking home from shopping for food to cook for dad, and then another minute I hear a roar and something hit my back. It was a huge… monster. Well anyways, then I say Ichigo come, but I think that I was imagining things because he had a sword on his back and he killed the monster. However, I knew it was too late for me because the monster hit me pretty hard on the chest. I flew backwards and hit my head against the wall. I could barely hear Ichigo screaming my name. I started to cry, not because of my pain but because I knew that I was leaving Ichigo… just like mom did…" Yuzu said and then trailed off.

"It was a hollow." Karin said to no one in particular.

"W-what?" Yuzu asked.

"I said that it was a hollow that killed you." Karin hissed out and clenched her fists. Yuzu was taken aback by Karin reaction.

I stepped up to Karin and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, lets go spar with each other. I think that we could both use a bit of a workout." I said.

"Fine, but can Yuzu come?"

"If she wishes… and if she is healthy enough to come. Captain Unohana?" I called out, knowing that she would hear me.

A few short seconds later, the Fourth Squad Captain walked up to me. "Yes Stephany, do you need anything?" she asked sweetly.

"Yeah, Karin and I were just wondering if Yuzu was healthy enough to come with us? Karin needs to blow off some steam, if you know what I mean…" I said. Unohana laughed softly.

"Yes of course I know what you mean and yes I think that Karin's sister is well enough to get around on her own… she even has a surprise for both of you." Said the kind Captain.

"Let me guess… she has her own zanpaktou?" I guessed and Captain Unohana had a shocked look on her face.

"H-how…? Did you just guess that or did you know that?" she asked me. I just laughed at her reaction.

"No, I have known since we have stepped in this room. I noticed that someone's reiatsu was higher than normal in this room but I wasn't sure if I was just imagining it or not. But when Yuzu told us the story about getting attacked by a "monster", then I knew it was because of her increase of spiritual energy. Therefore, I concluded that she had gotten her own zanpaktou… but of course I never told Karin any of this. This can be our secret." I said and the Captain nodded in agreement.

"Well I have to go and fight Karin before she starts to blow up Soul Society and Kenpachi comes after her… again." I said and laughed. Unohana laughed with me and then I waved good-bye at her and then exited the building.

~ WAITY? ~

"That was good Karin, but why don't you try hitting me?" I taunted her.

"Well I would if you would just hold still."

"Yeah… no. I don't think so." I said and then turned to face Yuzu.

"Hey Yuzu, come out here for a few seconds." I said.

"Are you nuts? Yuzu can't fight!" Karin protested. I just smirked.

"I guessed." I said to Yuzu and she understood. She knew that I guessed and now knew that she had a zanpaktou. "But why don't you show your sister." I prompted her.

Yuzu gulped lightly before she nodded. "Alright! Come on Karin, let's fight."

"Eh? But you will get hurt." Karin said.

"No just come on!" Yuzu said.

"Well, okay… if you want me too…" Karin said and then charged towards Yuzu with her borrowed sword held high. **(A/N: Remember that Kaze Ryuu is not a sword, so Karin just has a normal sword but she can infuse her reiatsu into it to make it more like a zanpaktou.) **

Right as Karin was closing in on Yuzu, she cried out. "Reflect, Aoi Umi!" At once a sword appeared in her hands and she parried Karin's attack easily. Karin stopped dead in her tracks when her blade clashed with her sister's blade.

"Whoa! Since when did you get a zanpaktou?" Karin asked, impressed.

"I got it maybe a few days after I appeared in Rukongai. Some men were after me and the Aoi Umi just appeared for me and we fought them off. A few minutes after we fought the men, Captain Unohana showed up and offered to bring me here to Seireitei. She said that you would be here. Then, when we arrived, she took me to her Division and gave me something because apparently when you die and come here, you loose some, if not all, of your memories. So the Captain gave me something to regain all of my memories. Then I fell asleep. When I woke up, I trained with Aoi Umi for a day and then the next day, I called for you."

To say that Karin was stunned, was to say that ten tons was as light as a feather. I started to laugh at Karin's reaction. Karin quickly snapped out of it and came back to reality.

"Well, Yuzu… welcome to Soul Society." I said and Yuzu looked at me.

"Eh Karin, who is that?" she whispered under her breath, but I heard her.

"Yuzu, my name is Stephany. I am the Head Captain here, or you could say that I am the boss of Soul Society." I said and then Yuzu quickly bowed to me. I waved my hand at her, indicating that she should stop bowing to me.

"Okay, and one more thing… I really don't like it when people bow to me. It makes it feel as if im better than everyone." I explained.

"Well… aren't you better than everyone?" Yuzu asked innocently.

"What? No, of course im not better than everyone. I only want people to obey me when I give them an order, not think that I am better than them. Think of it as this. I wished to be thought of as a teacher who just wants respect. I don't feel like I am better than everyone, but I just want control on what people do, understand?"

"Yea ma'am."

"And none of that ether. Like I have said to everybody else, just call me Stephany."

"Okay… Stephany."

~ WAITY? ~

_One Year later_

_My office_

I was just sitting at my desk, doing some paper work and Karin came barging in, without knocking.

"Stephany!" she roared. I sighed and looked at her.

"What is it this time K-" I said but trailed off once I saw that Karin was close to tears.

"It was _him_."

"W-what did he do this time?" I asked her. Lately, Karin and Toushirou have not been getting along very well because of Momo.

"I was just walking around and I caught _them_ kissing! They weren't even trying to hide it…" Karin said with a note of sadness in her voice.

"Oh Karin Im sorry. I know that it must be hard for you b-"

"No, Stephany. Its not _hard_, its dreadful staying here. Being forced to stay where the man you love is all over someone else that you want to disappear." Karin said. I just stood in silence, letting her finish her ranting.

"Well, what do you want me to do?" I asked her nicely.

"…There is nothing that you can do. You can't force Toushirou to stop loving his _wife_." Karin hissed out, and I involuntary flinched away from the malice in Karin's voice. Karin took a breath and then looked at me straight in the eye.

"I am going to leave Seireitei. Are you going to try to stop me?"

"No, of course not. This is your life, I can not tell you what you can and cant do… being reasonable of course." I said. "No, I believe that everyone should make their own choices… I only hope that they make the _right_ ones." I said and Karin nodded.

"Okay, well I plan to say good-bye to everyone today and im going to leave tomorrow."

I sighed. "Is there anything that I can do to stop you? I don't want you to leave."

"I don't want to leave ether, but it's just too painful to stay here any longer. The man I love loves someone else and doesn't even pay any attention to me. My child has left me and if I stay here, then it's like a constant reminder of what I don't have. Of course I have you, who could ever forget. But sometimes, it just isn't enough. Do you get what im saying?" Karin asked me.

"Yeah, I do. I just wish that you are safe on your journey and that you will come and visit me sometimes. I will still keep on the look out for Yuki." I said.

"Thank you, Stephany. You have been more than just a friend and my zanpaktou spirit. I think that if it weren't for you and maybe a few others, I would have gone insane long ago."

"Well, in my option, it's a little late for that…" I said and grinned. Despite the circumstances, Karin couldn't help but grin right back at me.

"Im really going to miss you… Ni-Ni."

"Yeah, im gonna miss you to, Karin. Please be safe… and make good choices. If the thought of joining Aizen ever once occurred to you, then please remember this. I will not convict you of being a traitor, like the other three captains, but if you ever do threaten the peace of Soul Society, then I will have no choice. You may join up with him, but lay one hand on Soul Society, and it will all just go down hill for you." I warned. Karin just nodded.

"Y-you aren't really serious about joining him…right?" I just had to make sure…

"N-no of course not!" Karin said and laughed out loud.

"Good. Please be safe… and make good choices." I said. Karin nodded and then walked out of my office for the last time.

~ WAITY? ~

"Um, Rangiku, I need to talk to you." Karin said, poking her head into the tenth squad's office, where Rangiku was for some strange reason or another, doing paper work.

When Rangiku heard Karin speak, she immediately stood up out of her chair. Karin didn't look around, but kept her eyes straight on Rangiku. But, no matter what Karin did, she couldn't stop the other person in the room from speaking to her.

"K-Karin… can we talk?" a somewhat timid voice asked.

Karin, acting on impulse, spun her head around to find the speaker.

"Oh, so now you want to talk. You ignore me for a year and then just when its convent for you, you ask me to talk to you. Well my answer is no, so leave me alone… Captain Hitsugaya." Karin said. Toushirou flinched.

"Rangiku, you on the other hand have been so kind to me. I just wanted to tell you good-bye…" Karin said and trailed off. Toushirou, whose head was looking down, snapped up at Karin's words.

"Oh, why Karin?"

Karin gave Rangiku the are-you-crazy-you-did-not-just-ask-me-that-question look.

"Well besides… that reason, is there another reason?"

"I… don't wish to talk about it. I have already spoken to Stephany about it and she said okay, so I will be leaving tomorrow." Karin said.

Rangiku walked up to Karin, not in her bubbly, happy mood, but in a slow and exsaderated way and embraced Karin, not smothering Karin with her "friends", but in a way that one would comfort another when grieving on having great sadness.

"You know its not going to be the same around here anymore. Im gonna miss you." Rangiku said.

"Yeah, me too." Karin said and then released the embrace.

"Well I have to get going now, I just wanted to say good bye to you, Rangiku." Karin said and then turned without another word and started to walk down the hallways, going nowhere in particular. However, Karin was walking slowly, so she accidently overheard what Rangiku said to Toushirou.

"What?! You're not going to do anything? You are just gonna let her leave? I can't believe you…" Rangiku screamed at Toushirou.

"Matsumoto, its her decision. I can not change that."

"Oh yes you can. Did you know that you are the main reason that Karin is leaving? This past year has been miserable for her and its all your fault!"

"My fault, how so?"

"YOU ARE AN IDIOT! I cant believe im still here with you! Karin loved you… and she probably still does, but now with all of the things that you have done to her, her love for you will probably turn into hate." Rangiku hissed.

"That's bull Matsumoto!"

"Its not and you know that I am telling the truth. Ugh! I cant stand even being around you! Im leaving." Rangiku said and she walked out of the room without another glance. When Rangiku walked into the halls, she noticed that Karin hadn't left as she had thought.

"H-how much did you hear?" she asked Karin.

"All of it. …thank you Rangiku." Karin said. Rangiku nodded and walked the other way, back to her house. Karin turned back around and took one step forward, but her head was still on the place where Rangiku was standing just a few moments before.

_Boom! _Karin ran into something, or someone, and was thrown backwards.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay? I am so s-" the voice said but when person saw who she ran into, she quickly turned hostile.

"Watch where you're going!" the voice said.

"Me? _You're_ the one who ran me over, not the other way around you idiot!"

"Well at least I have a husband… unlike someone I know." The person said, looking at Karin.

"Yeah, that's because you took my husband you freaking moron!"

"Well it's not my fault that he fell in love with me over you." The person sneered.

"Momo, if you don't shut the heck up, so help me, I will murder you right where you stand."

"Ha! Like to see you try."

"Was that a challenge?" Karin hissed.

Momo hesitated. "…No, it wasn't."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Karin said. "And at least I have a child, even if she's not here right now." Karin said and smirked.

That was when Momo cracked. Momo drew her hand up, ready to hit Karin in the face when someone's hand came and caught her wrist.

"That's enough, Momo."

Momo faltered and sighed. Then Momo got an idea. " Okay, Shiro." And Momo saw Karin visibly stiffen because that was the nickname Karin would use…

However, Toushirou got what Momo was trying to do and frowned. However, Karin wanted revenge and she knew just how to do it.

"So Momo, when are you gonna have a baby?" Karin asked with fake innocence. "Oh, that's right… you cant. Aw poor Momo wants a family but just cant do it." Karin sneered and saw anger in Momo's eyes.

"H-how do you know about that?" Momo hissed out.

"Are you stupid? Well yes you are, but you are more stupid than I gave you credit for. Have you forgotten that Stephany is my spirit? I can get her to tell me anything I w-"

"Well that's not technically true, Karin." I said coming up behind her and making her jump.

"I don't tell you everything, just the relatively important facts."

"Stephany! You swore that you would never tell anyone." Momo hissed at me.

"Yes but that was before. You see, Karin came in the day before you came and spoke to me. Karin wanted to know what some of my powers were and I told her. Then the next day, you came in and apologized to me for everything that happened. Then you asked me your questions and asked me not to tell anyone. So I agreed… but you never asked me if I had told anyone before hand." I said and then took a deep breath.

"Wait, what are you all talking about?" a confused Toushirou asked and I turned to look at Momo.

"You never told him?"

"Told me what?"

Momo sighed and then looked at me. "Will you please tell Shiro what we are taking about?"

I just frowned. "Why should I? It's not my problem? And besides, you asked me not to tell anyone. Remember?" I asked and smirked. Karin smirked as well, fully knowing that I was on her side. "And while we are having this wonderful conversation, could we invite someone to join us?" I asked.

"What? No! I only want this to be between me, Toushirou, you, and now… _her_." Momo said.

"I have a name you know!" Karin snapped.

"Oh I know you do, but you're so insignificant, that I don't bother even saying it."

"Alright! That's it!" Karin roared and launched herself at Momo. I sighed and rolled my eyes. Then I had my dragon tail come out and wrapped it around Karin's waist, pulling her backwards.

"Sterling!" I called out and Toushirou's sword started glowing an icy blue. Then there was a bright flash and a man was standing next to Toushirou.

"Yeah, what's up…S-Stephany?" Sterling asked and then sweatdropped at the scene in front of him.

"Just help me calm her down." I said. Sterling nodded and walked over to where Karin and I were standing, completely ignoring Toushirou and Momo. When he reached us, Sterling leaned over and whispered something in Karin's ear. Karin froze for a few seconds, before calming down and going limp in my tail.

"Nice work." I said. Sterling shrugged.

"It was nothing."

Then Toushirou spoke. "Man, im impressed, Stephany."

"And why is that?" I asked, wary of anything that he was about to say.

"Because, you just call out to him once and he is right at your side, but I have been trying to call him for over a year and he still hasn't spoken to me."

My eyes widened at his statement.

"You haven't spoken to Toushirou in over a year?" I asked. Sterling just nodded.

"Why?" I asked.

"I-it doesn't matter. If you really want to know, I will tell you about it later."

"Fine, now back to the subject at hand. Karin, I presume that you wish to speak with Toushirou alone, so we shall leave. Momo, you and Karin stay away from each other and we shall all leave and give the two their privacy. Lets go." I said and in the tone of my voice, no one dared object.

*

_Karin's POV_

"Toushirou, I need to give you something." I said. Toushirou and I had gone to a small garden with a little bench in the middle. I put my hand in my pockets and pulled something out.

"Here, I am returning it back to you." I said, handing Toushirou a little black box. Toushirou knew immediately what it was.

"No Karin. Please don't." Toushirou begged.

"I will not keep it. It looked like you put a lot of effort into the gift, so I didn't throw it away." I said and stood up. "That was all I need to do. Good bye now, Captain Hitsugaya." And I used my light speed to take my leave.

As I ran, I felt tears sting my eyes. Remembering was just too hard, but, like it or not, the memory came anyway.

_*****_

_Flashback_

I stood there with my mouth hanging wide open, and opened the gift.

Toushirou wasn't a man of many words but when it came to actions, he didn't hesitate. This was the only gift he could find that suited me – a black, studded leather bracelet, and it wasn't studded with nothing. The rivet was made of pure crystal, a special crystal that was from Hyourinmaru, just like the Ice Rose.

It was a simple gift for those who didn't know, but to those who know about us, knew that it was special.

I turned around after putting the bracelet on, and vanished around the corner.

A few minutes later, I came back with a bracelet too, but this one had a single locket and was made of silver. I put it in his hand as I was hugging him.

Toushirou raised his hands and returned the embrace while he opened the locket. Inside, it was a lock of my hair and he couldn't help himself. He ran his hand through my raven hair and inhaled my scent. As the crystal was a part of him and my strand of hair was a part of me that he always would keep…or I had hoped…

_End of Flashback_

_*****_

I frowned upon the memory and looked down. Tears were forcing themselves out of my eyes and I sat down by a tree, over looking Seireitei.

"Momo…what does he see in that girl anyways?" I muttered out loud. Oh well, I guess Ill never know.

*

_Stephany's POV_

_The Next Morning_

"Im leaving Stephany. Good bye." Karin said as she embraced me.

"Geez Karin, im really gonna miss you." I said and then leaned down to tell her something in her ear. "I just wanted to tell you that when you leave, some of your memory will be erased, just like when the three Captain's left, they didn't remember that I was your spirit. They obviously have inside forces here working for them, because Aizen knew about me being you spirit when he kidnapped you and brought you to Hueco Mundo. But anyways, back to the point. When you leave, you will loose some of your memory. Please be safe… and make wise choices." I said and smirked.

"You know it!" Karin said and smiled. I walked up to her and gave her a hug.

"Good-bye… Mistress." I said.

Karin turned around and started at me. "After everything that has happened, you still call me that." She whispered.

"Of course." I said and smiled. "Good-bye." I whispered and Karin left Soul Society…

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_Soul Society_

_Five Years Later_

I was so bored. It has been five whole years since Karin left. I looked to my left to see Sterling walking along side me, humming a tuneless song. As I sighed, Sterling stopped walking and looked at me.

"Hmm… bored much?"

"How did ya guess?" I asked him rhetorically.

Sterling just smirked and started walking again.

"Hey Sterling, I think that I am going to go down to the human world to visit Ichigo and Rukia." I said. Sterling looked at me and then smiled.

"Okay, I think that that is a great idea." He said and I smiled, happy that he thought that it was a good idea.

"Well then I guess that I will be staying there for about a week and then I will return."

"Sure, sounds great." Sterling said.

"Hey, do you and Toushirou talk much anymore?"

Sterling sighed. "Not really."

"Oh, okay."

*

_An hour later_

"Well, please take care of yourself." I said.

"Sure, no problem. You wont have to worry about a thing." Sterling said. I nodded.

No one knew that I was going to be leaving, except the Captains and Lieutenants. I told them all to act like nothing was going on and for all of them to work together.

"Good-bye." I said and then walked through the gates that took me to the human world.

~ WAITY? ~

As I arrived in the human world, I immediately started walking towards the Kurosaki household. When I was just a few feet from the house, I felt three people's reiatsu spring up. I went and knocked on the door.

"Just a minute!" I heard someone call out. A few seconds later, the door flew open.

"H-Head Captain?! What are you doing here?" Rukia asked.

"Well for one thing, its Stephany. And for the other thing, I am just here for a friendly visit."

"Oh, that's great! Um… where's Karin?" Rukia asked and I stiffened.

"Don't know." I said and a confused look crossed Rukia's face. "May I come it? I will explain everything in time." I said and Rukia quickly let me in.

"Hey, Stephany. Long time no see. How have ya been?" Ichigo asked. I hesitated before answering.

"I personally have been good, however I am very hesitant to say that I can not say the same for Karin." I said and closed my eyes, waiting for the loud outburst from Ichigo, but it never came. Instead, my sentence was --- by silence.

"Ichigo…" Rukia said in a sympathetic voice.

"No… im fine. Its… just shock, that's all. Well come on Stephany. I want to introduce you to someone." Ichigo said and indicated that I should follow him as he walked past me and out the front door.

"Ichigo, where are you going?" Rukia asked.

"To let Stephany meet someone."

"Oh okay, that's a great idea. Have fun you two, im going to say here and clean up. Good bye Stephany, have fun!" Rukia called out and then shut the door.

"Well come on, lets go to Uhaurah's place. That's where the person is that I want you to meet."

I nodded and followed him.

Once we arrived at the front door, Ichigo knocked once and then just walked right in. I sweatdropped and followed him inside. Once inside the shop, I could hear a distant sound of metal on metal.

"This way." Ichigo said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

As Ichigo led us down some hidden stairs, I started to space out until I accidently missed a step and started to fall. Luckily, there were only three more steps until the bottom, so I landed quickly and quite gracefully.

Ichigo sighed and then spoke. "Over here, and remember to be quite because he doesn't know that we are here yet."

I nodded and walked over to where Ichigo was standing. When I looked straight ahead, I saw a young boy with bright orange hair and deep blue eyes.

_So this must be Ichigo's child. Hmm, nice resemblance to both of his parents. I wonder how strong he is…_ I thought to myself.

As I was thinking that, I suddenly felt some of his reiatsu and noticed two things. One was that it was slightly colder than normal reiatsu and two was that it felt oddly familiar.

As I continued to watch, I saw that the boy had a sword in his hands. The hilt was a light blue color, almost the exact color of Hyourinmaru's scales. Then the blade was an even lighter blue, making the sword look like it was made from ice.

_How weird. Well I wonder why I feel as if I already know this kid… why is that, I wonder?_ I thought to myself.

However, my questions were answered by the next words that came from the boy's mouth.

"Gleam, Shiroi Yuki!" at once, the whole entire cave became an ice wasteland and it began to snow. I froze at the calling of his zanpaktou. _Y-Yuki? Is it really her or is it a coincidence?_ I asked myself as I continued to watch to see what the boy would do but he surprised me when he just put the sword's tip on the ground and just stood there.

"Hey Shiroi Yuki, please come out." The boy said and at once the sword started to glow. There was a flash of light and then there stood a girl…

"Yuki…" I whispered. It was truly her. I stood up and decided to make my presence known. I turned towards Ichigo, and was about to ask him if I could have a few minutes alone, but it seems that he could see it in my eyes, so he just quietly stood up and started walking towards the exit. However, he stopped walking as his mouth was by my ear to whisper one thing.

"Keitaro is his name…" and then he was gone.

I sighed and then used my light speed to get within a few feet of the two and spoke, loud and clear.

"Well Yuki, there seems to be more than one thing that you have inherited from me." I said and smiled. Yuki snapped her head up. Yuki just stood there for a few seconds, trying to decide if she was dreaming or not. When she finally was convinced that it was really real, she started smiling and ran to embrace me.

"Oh Ni-Ni, I missed you," Yuki said as tears ran down her face. "All I can remember is that Mother and I got into a fight and then I went to bed. When I woke up, something felt different. I just laid where I was and didn't move for a few minutes and I kept my eyes closed. When I opened them, I screamed. I was, somehow, in a field. I looked around and called out for anyone; no one answered and I was scared. Then I started talking to myself and I noticed that I wasn't hungry like I normally was. I was worried but I calmed down. I looked up at the sky and it was a beautiful sight to see. It was like the Northern Lights."

I just continued to listen and hold Yuki in my arms. Then I noticed that Keitaro was staring at me, wondering why I was holding Yuki.

"…And when I-"

"Yuki." I said, cutting her off. "I think that I better explain what we are talking about to your…uh…wielder."

Yuki turned her attention back to Keitaro and noticed his worried and slightly panicked expression. Yuki smiled and slid, unhappily, out of my arms and walked over to Keitaro, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Keitaro, this is Stephany, mommy's zanpaktou spirit." Yuki said and Keitaro's eyes widened and I chuckled.

"Hello Keitaro, its nice to meet you." I said and then once again turned back to Yuki.

"Oh my gosh! Just look at you! I haven't seen you for ages! How are you"

"Well ever since Keitaro awakened me, I have been doing great… how's mommy? Is she okay? Where is she?"

I sighed and took a deep breath. This was going to take some time to explain.

Twenty minutes later, after I had finished explaining what had happened Yuki finally spoke.

"She left… because of me?"

"No sweetie, she left because of many other reasons. Its not your fault in the least." I said and Yuki nodded.

"So what is going to happen now?" Keitaro asked for the first time in thirty minutes.

"Well," I said, thinking, "How would you like to go to Soul Society with me?"

Keitaro's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Oh really? I would love to. When can we go?" he asked.

"Tomorrow, if your parents will let you."

"Okay, let me go asked daddy. Shiroi Yuki, why don't you just stay here with your mommy and I will be right back?" the boy said and then got up, not waiting for an answer. Yuki sighed.

"No matter how many times I tell that boy to call me "Yuki", he will still call me "Shiroi Yuki" and it drives me insane!" Yuki said and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yeah well anyways, how are you, really?"

"Well I am very happy with Keitaro. He is a good wielder. We work well together." Yuki said and I nodded.

"Hey! Daddy said yes!" Keitaro yelled and Yuki smiled.

"… Daddy really did that to Mommy…"

"Yuki, don't worry about that, okay?"

Yuki nodded and then we all walked up the ladder together and got ready to go to Soul Society.

*****

the next morning

"Keitaro, are you ready to go?" I called out.

"Yes, just one minute" came a excited reply. "Mom, Dad, im going now!" and with that, Keitaro came flying down the stairs to stand right in front of me.

"Okay then, lets go!" I said and immediately, a gate appeared and we both walked through it together.

Upon arriving at Soul Society, I could tell that something was really wrong.

"Keitaro, please keep quite and follow me." I whispered and started to run at a fast paste towards my office. Once we reached my office, I ran to my desk and sat down.

"Okay. Keitaro, please come here."

"Yes ma'am, what is it?" he asked me politely. I smiled and then continued to speak.

"I am going to have to call a Captain's meeting to announce that you are here. It is very rare for a human who hasn't died yet to come here and it is even more rare for a child, such as your self, to be born from two soul reapers, almost like Yuki." Keitaro just nodded.

"Okay well I just sent a hell butterfly and the captains should be here any second n-"

_Knock, Knock. _"Come in." I quickly and gently pushed Keitaro out of sights way for now. The door opened and in came Rangiku with Kenpachi right on her heels.

"Well hello Rangiku. I see you are still with Captain Kenpachi. Where is Y-"

"HIYA HEAD CAPTAIN!!!" a little pink haired girl yelled.

"Well hello Yachiru, how are you doing?"

"Great!" she answered.

I simply nodded and waited for all of the other captains and lieutenants to arrive. I didn't have to wait for long, because in about ten minutes, everyone was present, so I decided that it was time to speak.

"Everyone, I am sure that you are all aware of the… "situation" concerning Karin Kurosaki and her daughter, Yuki. Well on that topic, I have some good news and some not so good news for someone in particular." I said and looked at Byakuya in the corner of my eye.

"What I am about to say my shock some, but be of no surprise to others. Everyone knows about Ichigo's love for Rukia, am I correct?" I asked and everyone nodded, including Byakuya, who was lost as to where I was going with this.

"Well it has come to my attention that the man finally came to do something about it. About five to six years ago, he married her and they gave birth to a son. That boy's name is Keitaro." I said and let it all sink in. I looked around the room and couldn't help but giggle at everyone's faces. Some were alit with joy, others with surprise, but what surprised me was that none had the look of anger upon their face; not even Byakuya, he just looked mildly surprised.

"Well the reason that I have brought them up into the conversation is not to get them into trouble, but to explain what happened to Yuki." I said and then turned towards the spot where Keitaro was hiding.

"Keitaro, please come out." I said and he did just that. I heard many gasps go throughout the room because everyone was stunned at how much he resembled his parents.

"Everyone, this is Keitaro, Ichigo and Rukia's son. I have brought him here for more than just showing all of you him, but there is something t-"

"May I test on him?" the creepy scientist asked. I glared at him.

"No idiot… eh… Captain Kurotsuchi. No you most defiantly may not!" I said, just barely containing my anger.

"Right… sorry…" he mumbled and then started to sulk. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at that man.

"Anyways, as I was saying…"

BOOM! The whole office started shaking and some fell off their feet in the tremor.

"What was that?!" someone yelled.

"Outside, quickly!" I ordered and everybody quickly obeyed.

"Wait, Rangiku! I want you to stay here for just a few seconds. I need to speak with you. Its about Karin." I said and I saw Toushirou's head snap up.

"Quickly, everyone outside, NOW!" I yelled. Once everyone was outside I put my arm out, indicating that Keitaro should come stand by me.

"Watch carefully now, Rangiku." I whispered to her and turned to speak with Keitaro.

"Keitaro, will you please call out your zanpaktou spirit for me?" Keitaro nodded.

"Gleam, Shiroi Yuki!" at once, Yuki appeared and Rangiku's jaw dropped.

"YUKI!!!" she squealed and ran to embrace her.

"Well hello Rangiku, long time no see." Yuki said.

"Yes indeed what you have said is correct." Rangiku replied.

I hated to be the one who had to suck the fun out of their excitement, but I sensed that we had something else that we had to get done first.

"Keitaro, Rangiku, outside! Come on. I feel as though something is going to happen… and it's going to be really bad…"

Yuki said good-bye and returned to Keitaro's inner world as we rushed out of my office. When we were outside, we all looked up at the sky and I felt Toushirou guiltily come to stand beside me. I knew that Toushirou still had strong feelings for Karin. I opened my mouth to speak to him, but suddenly the sky just opened. I quickly shut my mouth and watched what was taking place.

Million upon millions of hollows appeared. I quietly groaned to myself. I didn't have time to fight unnecessary things, however my thoughts soon took another direction when I saw an outlined shadow of someone walking forward.

"Aizen…" I hissed out but I saw Toushirou shake his head in disagreement.

"N-no… it isn't Aizen… no…" he whispered and then I glanced at him. Toushirou had begun to pale and I was wondering if he was getting sick.

But my answer soon came to me…

As the whole Soul Society looked upon the figure, I felt myself pale.

"No… it can't be… please no…" I whispered but I knew that it was to late.

The figure stepped out of the hole and was floating in midair.

One single word left my lips. "Karin…"

***************

Well I hope that everyone enjoyed this chappy. I am so very sorry to say that it took me so long to write, but high school started for me so that is why it took me so long. It is my second week and today I am sick… ugh so that is why I am able to finish this chappy. Well I have one more piece of bad news… the next chapter is going to be the last and I can promise you right now that NO ONE is gonna like how it ends. But the bright side of that is that there is going to be a sequel called "Legacy". I already have some plans for it but I will just the story write itself…I mean hey, that's how this story was. I had no idea where I was going with it and now look where I am! -.^ well I hope that you all enjoyed this story so far and the last chappy is going to be called, "Good bye" unless I think of something more fitting… but anyways, right now I think I am going to go find the hardest substance in the world and shield myself with it because I really don't wanna die once the last chapter is up… and unfortunately, I don't know when that will be… but it will probably take some time… well thx for reading and please leave me a REVIEW!!! (Btw, did anyone guess that was what had happened to Yuki? When Stephany said, "Well that's just one more thing that you have inherited from me," I was referring to the fact that she is also now a spirit, just like I am for Karin. And the other thing that she has inherited from me was the power to speak to people thought their thoughts.) Anyway, love all of yall and I hope to hear some feedback from everyone!


	17. Recovering What's Mine

Me: *Bows deeply before the readers in humble apology* GOMEN NASAI for not getting back to this story for YEARS!

Karin: … Baka no Winter.

Toushiro: Hai!

Me: … ano…why are you guys suddenly speaking in Japanese?

Karin: Urusai.

Me: (-.-') uh…. Ok anywayyyyyy, I really do wish to say im sorry for not updating this in the longest time. I feel really bad about that. I will be honest and say that for the past almost two years I did lose complete interest in fanfiction, which is why I had not continued typing the (sorta) LAST CHAPTER of this story (not including the epilogue). I am so grateful that you guys have stuck with me for so long. I hope that this last chapter will appease any unhappiness, anger, fury, wrath, etc that you have for me. I will also say that I had planned to make my story a tragedy in the end (sorry to ruin the surprise) but I have now reconsidered and I have a new ending to the story that I just now thought of while sitting here in bed at 1:35am on a Thursday night. I have a whole novel that needs to be read and a huge PreCal test for tomorrow, but I have decided to type this chapter up instead. Enjoy minna!

(Japanese Terms):

-Gomen Nasai: humbling myself in apology

-Baka (no Winter): Winter (me) you idiot

-Hai: yes

-Ano: um….

-Urusai: Shut up

-Minna: everyone

-Che: slang for shit

-Kisama: slang for bastard

-Kuso: slang for damn

-Shinigami: soul reaper (lol, I hoped everyone knew this one) :)

(Sry for all the bad words and/or if I missed any. If so plz just let me know and ill fill u in asap, thanks!) xD

~now with that short little lesson out of the way, on with the story!

Recovering What's Mine

Toushiro breathed out a sigh of disbelief. "K-Karin…"

Feeling the sensation of eyes upon her and hearing her name being drawn from someone's lips, Karin turned her head in the direction that she thought was the closest and happened to connect eyes with her "ex-lover".

Having the sides of her mouth twist in the beginnings of a snarl, Karin glared down at Toushiro before twisting off the air she was currently standing on. She plummeted down towards the ground, only to stop a few inches from becoming a smudge on the ground.

"Go…" the baritone voice of Aizen sounded, giving her the command to fulfill her duties as they had agreed, much to the horror of not only Toushiro, but everyone in Soul Society.

"KARIN!" Stephany roared and her silver-metallic dragon wings appeared on her back as she jumped as far as she could towards her own wielder. "What is the meaning of this?" she hissed, sounding more dragon/snake-like by the minute with the rage building in her gut.

"I have done as I pleased. I have broken no rules of Soul Society. I have simply come to pay a visit to all of my… friends." Karin said with a gleam in her eye that made Stephany suspect that Karin was not fully sane.

"Yuki… she is here Karin. You… you wouldn't harm your own daughter…would you?" Stephany asked gently.

"Psh." Karin scoffed. "What does it matter? She's _his_ offspring. Do whatever you want with her." She said heartlessly.

A laugh rang out loud throughout the now soon-to-be battlefield.

"Do you like our new improvements with Karin?" Aizen gently sneered. "It seems that Gin had a hidden ability that none knew about until recently. It brings a person's uttermost hated thoughts to the front so all the person can see is though a blind rage. No way to break it…" he said, not knowing that he had just jinxed himself in a way that could very well cost him his life…

Gin clicked his tongue in amusement to Aizen's taunting.

"Eh… might as well go an' talk with Ran." He said, referring to Masumoto.

"You will go nowhere near her!" Toushiro hissed, clearly disliked being forgotten.

"My, my; aren't we 'he buzz kill of t'day…" Gin said as he used shunpo and disappeared, only to reappear moments later behind Toushiro.

Grounding his teeth together in frustration, Toushiro quickly brought his sword up to parry the attack from Gin's sword, but the force of the attack slightly overwhelmed him and pushed him to the side, just enough for Gin to slice in a downwards motion. Confused, but jumping out of the way, Toushiro was surprised to find that in the downwards motion, Gin altered his course at the last moment and slashed his calf slightly, bringing fourth blood on his leg and slightly slicing through muscle.

Letting out a hiss of pain Toushiro raised his sword up and calmed his thoughts. "Please… Hyourinmaru… please fight with me once more. I will settle the score with everyone once our battle is over but for now I beg of you. Please return to me…" he silently prayed in his head. _…You're an idiot…_ the words floated through his mind. _But that's even more of a reason for me to help you… you learn from experience I suppose…_

Suddenly a pulse of icy freshness engulfed Toushiro while emitting his icy blue aura of spirit energy. "Rise above the frozen Heavens, Hyourinmaru!" He called out. At once the body of an ice dragon erupted from his sword and charged at Gin, catching him unprepared for the new turn of events, leaving him next to no time to dodge. Ice fangs catching on his shoulder, Hyourinmaru twisted his head as he felt his teeth connect with flesh, causing him to lose his connection, but also seriously wounding his target. _Karin…_ Toushiro thought as he concentrated on his battle.

Meanwhile Stephany charged seemingly at Karin, only to twist out of the way at the last second and head for Aizen, who disappeared within moments of being hit with a strong tornado.

"AIZEN!" Stephany roared. Quickly turning on her wielder, she fired off questions. "Why have you done this, Karin? Don't you know we are your friends? Are you listening to me… can you even hear me? Please, is there any way for you to open your eyes, not with hatred, but who you used to be? Please…" Stephany settled on whimpering.

Jaw set firm, Karin fixed Stephany with a look that clearly said to leave her alone. And with that, Karin also vanished, leaving Stephany and many others to ether search for the two disappearing intruders, or to fight off the never ending stream of hollows that kept appearing one after the other.

"THIS ENDS NOW!" Stephany bellowed and let a stream of fire and lighting intertwined while being boosted by a large tornado, fire at the approaching enemy blasting at least a thousand hollows at contact. But no matter her efforts, it looked futile as another thousand quickly replaced the missing ones within seconds.

Growling deep in her throat with aggravation, the temperature dropped a noticeable ten degrees.

_Calm yourself beloved._ The voice of Sterling floated through her head. Taking a deep breath Stephany turned around to see who she had around her. To her far left squads one through three were fighting tooth and nail with the hollows and on her right, squads ten through thirteen were battling their own hollows as well. The other squads were mixed together as one large group to fight and cover each other's backs… _Just like a __real__ family should…_ Stephany sighed to herself as she prepared to continue fighting.

"Unohana!" Stephany called out. Seeing the tall yet smaller women below her, Stephany flew to the ground. "We are going to need everyone on your squad here. This is the battle that settles everything…" Stephany cautioned.

Bowing her head in acceptance she spoke gently, despite the circumstance. "It has already been considered and done." She said with a small smile. Stephany smiled back slightly and fully transformed into her dragon form so that she could be heard over the noise of the bloodshed.

"Kenpachi, you and Yachiru… have fun with Gin. _I know you didn't get to finish your battle from a while ago. Here is your chance now. Don't disappoint me._ She joked mentally using her mental bond to convey the humor in her words thought. She saw him smirk with crazed happiness dancing in his eyes as he called Yachiru over to him. She happily jumped onto his back in her signature spot and together they ran towards Gin and Toushiro.

Nodding with approval Stephany turned next to Soi Fon, _I need you and Yoruichi to destroy all the Menos Grande that arrives; I feel many are coming as we speak. I shall personally go track that kisama Aizen down. _She requested in a harsher tone, showing the hatred she held for him at what he did to Karin. Soi Fon bowed deeply in respect and set off to retrieve Yoruichi from the human world.

_Toushiro, you and Sterling come with me_. Stephany ordered. Then, another thought came to Stephany. "Rangiku…" she called out, "This is your call. Would you rather stay with Kenpachi and Yachiru to fight Gin, since you are probably the one who knows him best, or would you rather come with me and your captain to find Karin?"

Looking desperately between her captain and Gin, Rangiku sighed. "I… but can I…. how will I know…" clearing her throat she began again, a bit more calmly. "With all due respect, I wish to stay here and fight Gin…"

Stephany easily smiled at that notion. "Told you Sterling." She mumbled. "Humph." Was all the appearing-out-of-nowhere Sterling said.

"I thought you would wish to stay." Stephany clarified. "Go, Rangiku." She encouraged and took off in her own attempt to locate Karin with Toushiro and Sterling by her side.

_Location: Momo_

"What's with all the noise?" she wondered out loud.

"We have simply returned home, Momo." Aizen answered softly to the given question, causing Momo to jump.

"C-Captain?..." she whispered in question, doubtful that he was real and was just another one of her dreams.

"I'm here for you Momo…" he said with false kindness in his voice, but it was enough to draw her into him once more. "And now that I have fulfilled a promise to you by my return, I have something I wish to ask of you…" he whispered in her ear.

"Anything…" Momo said caught in Aizen's snare. Aizen smirked, knowing this and began to whisper something in her ear.

_Location: Karin_

Walking down the nearly abandoned streets of the 10th squad districts she hesitantly came across the captain's quarters. Sending a glare in the direction of Toushiro's home she hesitantly made her way to his house. Quietly sneaking inside, for the door was unlocked because of the chibi captain's haste to leave, she quickly turned to search for the thing of interest.

Once she found what she was looking for, Karin quickly put it in her pocket and headed out the door to locate Aizen so they could leave the dreaded place where all the hurt from Toushiro blossomed. Memories that were previously lost quickly filled her mind and for a few excruciating moments, all Karin could do was bow her head and wait for the waves of pain to cease. Once it was all over, Karin had tears streaming down her cheeks from the pain she had to re-endure, but was happy in a way to be able to finally connect the dots to some of the questions that had been floating around in her hate-filled mind. _Che… that idiot Gin really doesn't know the extent of his stupid spell, does he?_ She hissed in her mind, mentally seething at him for experimenting on her while she was captured for the second time.

_Then fight his control…_ a voice whipped through her head. Growling, Karin got on guard for the figures who had approached her. "Stay away." She hissed and got in position to attack or flee depending on the situation.

"K-Karin…" one of the figures whispered to her. The voice was distinctly male and had an edge of anger mixed with… sorrow? Karin narrowed her eyes at the said figure.

"Why?" a women's voice questioned.

"…Stephany…" she breathed out in a hoarse voice realizing who was approaching. Her mind, still painful from the newly recovered memories, tried to distinguish if she was a friend or foe. _Friend mistress… _the mental voice of Kaze Ryuu rang in throughout her head, calming the pain from the memories, _Always__ a friend to you. I have been by your side since you were born into the human world. Please hear me out. Fight Gin's control on you. _She continued in an urgent whisper, pleading for Karin to understand.

The first figure approached while the male remained in the shadows. Holding her hands up in a submissive gesture, showing that she meant no harm, Stephany slowly approached Karin.

"Please… tell us why you are doing this. Why are you on _their_ side?" She whispered out loud to Karin.

"I… I don't… know…" Karin said and suddenly heard another voice in her head. _'urry up will ya? I'm getting' tired of fightin' Ran an' this bumbling idiot._ Gin said.

Eyes glazing over, the blind rage took over Karin's senses and thoughts. Springing away from Stephany, she quickly used her version of her light speed and fled.

Resisting the urge to pursue her, Stephany quickly turned to Toushiro to explain the situation.

"Why didn't you go after her?" he asked in an urgent tone of voice that came to stand beside her, Hyourinmaru strapped to his back in its signature position.

"Because… she is being controlled. I understand now! Being part of her, I felt another presence inside our heads… Gin. Aizen had said that Gin had put a spell on her. I think I understand at least some of the effects of the spell. It's something along the lines of causing someone to only feel rage, pain, sorrow, and all of the negative feelings that most people try and ignore. It brings all of the negative feelings to the front of a person's mind causing them not to hear when others try and reach out to you. I believe when Karin entered Soul Society once again she regained some of the memories she had previously lost. Her feelings were mainly angled towards you, which would explain why she regained more memories… we are in your district thus the perfect place to trigger the release. When she first arrived her feelings where centered on the few memories she had but now regaining most of them, the effect of the spell is dangerously stronger. We need to break Gin's control over her, ether by killing him or finding an alternate solution. And…" the breeze picked up and Stephany caught the scent of Karin coming from Toushiro's house. Quickly piecing together something she hastily tried to remember something. "Toushiro, tell me. When Karin was here years ago, did she ever mention leaving something special of hers in your care?" Toushiro shook his head negative. Letting out a sigh Stephany transformed into her dragon form.

_I'm going to go look for Karin. Be safe, I feel that the end of our battle here is drawing to a close._ She warned Toushiro mentally. She spread her wings and took off as she saw the boy nod in agreement.

Heading towards the first squad barracks Stephany hoped that she wasn't too late.

_Location: Toushiro_

Watching Stephany leave, Toushiro let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

_Boy… something's coming… and its powerful too…_ his dragon whispered in his head and then fell silent.

Turning on his heel to also look for Karin he looked behind him and jumped slightly. Right in front of him stood Aizen. Eyes narrowing in fury he withdrew Hyourinmaru from his back and held it at the ready. Hearing a chuckle from Aizen drew up even more anger. With a growl, Toushiro launched himself at Aizen, fully ready to kill.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Way." Toushiro seethed and drew his sword up over his head. "Sit upon the Heavens, Hyourinmaru!" he called. At once the sky darkened and the clouds rumbled their worship for the ice dragon. "ARGGG!" Toushiro yelled and began his attacks anew.

_Location: Karin_

Hearing swords class in the far off distance, Karin's anger melted slightly. It was just enough to realize that as hurt as she was, she never wanted Toushiro dead. Knowing full well that Toushiro was fighting Aizen, she turned on her heel only to realize that she could no longer use her light speed. _NO! Kaze Ryuu, give it back!_ She mentally called out, but received no response to her plead. Growling under her breath she began to sprint and an antagonizing slow, human sprint towards the battle that would change her life forever…

_Location: Stephany_

As Stephany flew over Soul Society, she scanned the area for any sign of Karin. Sighing out loud she swooped over sixth squad division and came across a shadowed figure running down the street followed by a hollow. Sighing she sent a bolt of fire and lighting at the hollow, quickly killing it. Landing on the ground, the shadowed figure approached the dragon, bowing deeply in thanks. The figure spoke and Stephany, who had transformed back into her human form, jolted with muted surprise.

"Thank you Head Captain. I was scared that it was going to get me." The women said.

Stephany simply rolled her eyes. "Momo, why didn't you just use a spell to get rid of it?" she asked in annoyance knowing full well that Momo was a strong kido master.

"I was caught off guard and ran for it. By the time I summoned my energy, I saw you flying and knew that you would help." She explained.

Stephany sighed. "Alright, if that's all then I have to resume my search." She said as she transformed once again into her dragon form. Turning around she was about to take off before she heard Momo speak again.

"Oh, before you leave Head Captain, have a drink." She said as she pulled a sealed cup out of thin air. "It's a new trick I learned." Momo explained to the slightly confused looking dragon. "It's really good. It tastes like sweetened water, and it has special properties to boost someone's energy at an instant." She explained, knowing that Stephany had already used much of her energy as is.

Stephany growled in frustration knowing full well that she had to leave and continue flying, yet something in her urged her to take the drink. She was getting slightly out of breath by using all of her magic so quickly without giving her body a chance to recover.

_Very well, just throw the drink in my mouth._ She said to Momo in her mind, missing the evil glint that shone in Momo's eyes.

Momo did as she was told and Stephany allowed the venom in her mouth to melt the material and letting the liquid contents flow freely in her mouth, down her throat, and into her stomach.

_Thank you M-_. Stephany felt her stomach heave as if trying to throw up, yet for some reason, nothing came up. _W-what's… happening… to me…?_ She growled.

Momo begun to laugh that did not sound as if it belonged to a sane person.

"Oh! Taicho was right, he was right!" she exclaimed forcing Stephany to look down as what the psychotic girl was screaming. "He said that you would rescue me and then take the drink! Oh my taicho is a genus!" she said as she smirked in triumph.

Reality hitting hard, Stephany realized what happened a moment too late for the drug that was inside her had begun to take effect. _You… poisoned…me?... with what? I did not know there was such a substance… that my… body couldn't… digest… _Stephany said as she returned to her human form. Lying on the ground almost unconscious, she barely made out what Momo said in return.

"Taicho used your own power against you!" she exclaimed in a crazed glee, "He took the Dragon Tear you had given him and infused his power into it. That was what the liquid was that you drank. You never should have crossed paths with me you stupid dragon…" she added as an afterthought.

Stephany managed the faintest of growls and sent one last desperate cry of help before she passed out. _S-Sterling… help… me…_

_Location: Toushiro_

_S-Sterling… help… me…_ the voice floated through both men's minds as they continued to fight Aizen.

_STEPHANY! _Toushiro heard Hyourinmaru roar. Suddenly the icy winds turned sharper than before. _Boy, we need to finish this, NOW._ The dragon said in barely suppressed rage.

"Understood." Toushiro replied out loud as he blocked Aizen's attack and threw some of his own.

_Location: Karin_

_Stephany?_ When she didn't receive an answer, Karin begun to worry. _Stephany, please answer me. Where are you? Please give me back my light speed. _Still hearing nothing in reply Karin gave up and continued her sprint towards Toushiro and Aizen.

After a few more minutes of running, she came across both men, who were both too engaged in the fight to notice the girl's presence just yet. Drawing a deep breath, Karin stood to consider her actions. Her head was once again filled with irrational rage at the white headed boy and she emerged out of the shadows to hurt him for causing her pain.

As she approached, both men saw her coming and broke apart.

"K-Karin…" Toushiro whispered then winched at the pain in his side sent his vision into spams of black and white for a moment.

Karin growled under her breath at hearing her name come from the boy who she was ready to kill.

"Karin." Another voice called her name. Turning her head she saw Aizen appear beside her. "Did you complete your mission?" he asked in sickeningly sweet way.

"Yes…" she answered causing Aizen to smile.

"Good, may I please have it?" he cooed gently.

Alarms went off in Karin's head causing her to back up a step away from Aizen and closer to Toushiro. Aizen frowned at this and froze where he was while thinking of a way to get what he wanted without having to force her.

"Why are you backing away from me? I am only here to help you. I am a friend… unlike the boy behind you who twisted your heart and shattered it into many pieces…" he said.

Red swarm in her vision again and she began to scream in pain and agony.

"KARIN!" Toushiro yelled and sprinted to her side, only to get backhanded in the face for touching her.

"Stay away from me!" She hissed through her teeth.

Toushiro saw that her eyes were glazed over and tried talking to her to make her see reason.

"Please Karin…" he whispered, holding his hands out to reassure her of his intentions. "I… I only wish to help… if you only knew the full story of why I did what I did then you might understand better…"

The rage begun to dwindle as her voice found reason in his words.

Seeing that he had Karin's attention, Toushiro continued with his story, forgetting about his fight temporarily. "Stephany's grandfather had always opposed you and I being together… it is strongly against the law for any shinigami to be with a human, let alone a captain. The day you and I married and I was brought back to Soul Society, I was more than willing to give up my place as captain for you. In fact I even said so in front of Head Captain. It was Stephany who saved me and allowed me to keep my spot. However…" Toushiro frowned and thought about how to phrase his next words. Choosing carefully he continued, "Later… Head Captain told me privately that he had found a way to separate Karin from his granddaughter. Had I continued the relationship, he would have done so then killed you Karin… He said it simply wasn't right for us to be together and claimed that if I wanted to save you that I had to prove myself to him that I didn't love you anymore. As much as it pained me to use Momo as a way out, my love for you overcame that, so I married her to try and show that I had forgotten about you. It seemed to work… so he never had a reason to hurt you, but I was unable to get away from Momo to explain what had happened… I really do love you K-"

Toushiro froze as he felt the sword of Aizen positioned at the base of his neck.

"Well isn't that sweet." He said, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"Kisama…" Karin hissed out, all of the rage was gone, only to be replaced with love for Toushiro.

"Ah, such language for a girl of your age…" Aizen chuckled. "Now, you either have the choice of handing me what I want, or the only thing that will be left of your little ice captain will be his heart, saved only for you." He said.

Karin's stomach lurched at the thought of her two choices.

"Don't listen Karin. Whatever he wants, don't give it to him." Toushiro hissed and swiftly dropped his sword, reached his free hand up to pull the blade away from his neck, and then ducked under the sword, picking up his discarded sword in a roll.

Growling with fury that Aizen no longer had the advantage, the two men once again sprang into action.

After a few minutes of the endless fighting, Karin saw that Toushiro was tiring and the battle would end soon.

As if her thoughts were spoken out loud, Toushiro parried an attack, but began to lose his footing. Without thinking, Karin swiftly sprang into motion, not consciously noticing that her light speed had returned slight, giving her just the boost she needed to get in front of the killing blow from Aizen. Reaching down to stop Toushiro's sword from cutting her as well, she moved in front of him right as Aizen's sword descended on her, missing her face and chest, but scoring deeply across her stomach. Coughing harshly at the pain, Karin lunged and grabbed Aizen's sword as it withdrew from her body.

Aizen laughed at the display. "What do you plan on doing little girl?" he sneered at her, and then stopped when he saw the dark gleam in her eyes.

"D-Dragon… venom…" she hissed through bloodied lips and at once his sword begun to shake violently in his arms. However, Aizen found that he was unable to release the sword from his grasp as a painful wave of electricity flared through his abdomen and into his very soul.

"W-Wha… what… have you… done… to me…?" he questioned through pain-filled gasps.

"Easy. I won." Karin said and collapsed, blood pooling around her stomach where she was bleeding profusely.

"K-Karin… KARIN!" she heard Toushiro scream as she fell into welcome darkness.

"Che… damn brat…" Aizen hissed as he too disappeared from sight.

_Location: Stephany_

"Ugh, where am I?" Stephany moaned. Looking around she saw that she was where she had earlier collapsed. Looking up at the sky she could see that a good twenty to thirty minutes had already passed by.

"Oh no, Karin!" she gasped and shot up, only to sway back and forth on the ground where everything suddenly started to spin. Stephany growled and shook her head lightly to try and clear the dizziness from her head. "Kuso." She swore. "I'll kill that stupid girl for doing this to me." She hissed out.

Suddenly it felt as lighting went through her stomach and she went on all fours, throwing up at the sudden pain.

"K-Karin…" Stephany hissed through her teeth and was enveloped in a glowing light, returning to Karin's mind as her spirit.

_Location: Karin_

"Karin…" Toushiro whispered stroking her cheek lovingly. He positioned himself so that he had Karin's head lying in his lap.

Moaning, Karin opened her eyes, only to have her deadly gray ones meet the piercing teal ones. "S-Shiro…" she mumbled and begun to cough harshly.

"Don't." he said, looking desperate seeing that there was nothing he could do except watch her die. The wound was too fatal to heal for his capabilities. Possibly if Unohana or someone more experienced from squad four was there with them there was a chance, but he and Karin both knew that that was impossible for someone to reach them in time.

A white light shone around them as well as a blue and both Stephany and Sterling materialized.

"S-Stephany… what can we do?" Karin whispered, but Stephany sadly shook her head.

"I cannot heal us mistress…" she whispered dejectedly. "I have no energy and the energy I _do_ have is mixed with whatever Momo drugged me with, so it is unsafe to use. I can, however, make it so that the pain isn't as bad." She said and Karin was enveloped in the dimmest green light before it quickly vanished.

"A-Aizen…?" Karin asked in a whispered voice through trembling lips.

"He should be dead soon Karin. Nothing can really overcome Dragon Venom." Sterling answered gently.

"Gin?" Karin continued.

"Matsumoto and the big idiot should be taking care of him if they haven't already." Toushiro informed.

"Alright…" she said and the four of them slipped into a depressed silence as they saw Karin continue to fight for breath, having been sliced in Aizen's attack.

"Karin…" Toushiro finally whispered, breaking the silence. "Aishiteru."

Karin smiled at him for the first time in many years. "Ai…shi…teru… Shiro…" she breathed out. Her breathing became more and more shallow and Toushiro no longer tried to fight to keep his tears away.

Suddenly, the group heard something approaching and was on guard for the worst to come. A few moments later they were all relieved to see it was only Kenpachi, Yachiru, Rangiku, and Keitaro, who had smartly hidden himself inside Stephany's office after both Karin and she had disappeared. Yuki appeared a few moments later and ran to her mother's side.

"Mamma…" Yuki whispered sadly, seeing there was nothing anyone could do in Karin's dying moments.

"My… baby…" Karin whispered hoarsely, and Stephany smiled sadly. The family was finally together again, only to have the mother ripped away from their grasp by a shadowy evil known as death.

Minutes ticked by and Karin was now barely breathing, yet somehow conscious, with the help of Stephany's dragon powers.

"I… love… you… all… thank… you… for… every… thing…" she whispered and looked to Toushiro one last time.

"Ai…shi…ter…u…" she whispered as the light faded from behind her eyes. Breaking down into even greater sobs, Stephany leaned forward to close Karin's eyes.

Wincing when she moved, yet finishing the task, everyone was too occupied with their own sorrow to notice the faint orange glow in front of Karin until it was almost too bright to see.

"Wha-?" Yuki screamed and took a defensive stance in front of her parents… now only parent.

_Calm yourself little one. I only came to see my daughter…_ a melodic voice floated through everyone's mind. As the light dimmed, everyone gasped at the beauty that stood before them. She stood about as tall as Rangiku, with hair and eyes to match. Her chest however did not compete with Rangiku, but the aura around her easily made up for that fact.

"I remember you… your Isshin's wife, Masaki right? … Karin and Ichigo's mother…and Yuzu's too…" Kenpachi mumbled out.

"Yes… that is my husband and three children." She said looking down at Karin's body. _However, I bet none of you accounted for one little detail._ She said in a smug sounding voice. _Karin was never dead. She was a mortal here in Soul Society, so I believe you shall be seeing her in… three… two… o-_

I gust of wind slightly picked up around Toushiro and suddenly you could hear his acclimation of horror that Karin's body had disappeared from his arms, only to be replaced with her in robes fit for a shinigami.

"I'm back." Karin said with a smile in her voice.

~WAITY?~

Me: wellllll now, what did all of yall think about _that_ now? Haha hope it was good enough to make up for the time I have been absent from this wonderful site.

Karin: yea yea, ok so I live. Whoopee doo. But what about what happened to Aizen, Gin and… _her_?

Me: haha Karin, eh I have an epilogue-ish kinda thing lol and once again idk I have nooo idea when I'll be able to post that, only cuz im not exactly sure what is to happen in it just quite yet.

Toushiro: well at least I have my loved one back by my side and have the annoying twit out of my life. She was really starting to piss me off…

Me: You and I both dude. Anywayyyyy, well slightly more to come! Thanks for stayin w me so far everyone. Love you guys! 3 PLZZZZZ REVIEWWWWW! (=^.^=)


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